Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Manuel Ponce, Fernando Sor :: Andrés Segovia: 1927 - 1939 Recordings, Volume 1

D. P. (MusicMan) from NEW YORK, NY
Reviewed on 7/31/2008...

Who wants to order a CD without knowing its contents (#@&! SACD database !!)? These are the tracks:

Partita for solo violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 Gavotte
J.S. Bach

Partita for solo violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 Rondeau
J.S. Bach

Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009 Courante
J.S. Bach

Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 Prelude
J.S. Bach

Prelude for lute in C minor, BWV 999 (BC L171)
J.S. Bach

Suite for lute in E minor, BWV 996 (BC L166) Allemande
J.S. Bach

Sonata for solo violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 Fugue in G Minor
J.S. Bach

Suite for guitar in A ("in the Style of Weiss") Prélude: Allamande
Manuel Ponce

Suite for guitar in A ("in the Style of Weiss") Gavotte
Manuel Ponce

Suite for guitar in A ("in the Style of Weiss") Sarabande
Manuel Ponce

Suite for guitar in A ("in the Style of Weiss") Gigue
Manuel Ponce

Introduction, Theme, & Variations on a Theme From Mozart's "The Magic Flute, " for guitar, Op. 9
Fernando Sor

Sarabande
Robert de Visee

Bourrée
Robert de Visee

Menuet
Robert de Visee

Gigues, for guitar
Johann Jacob Froberger

Sonatina for guitar in A major Allegretto
Federico Moreno Torroba

String Quartet No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 12 Second Movement- Canzonetta
Felix Mendelssohn

Serenata española for piano in F major
Joaquin Malats

Recuerdos de la Alhambra, for guitar
Francisco Tarrega

Etude for guitar in A
Francisco Tarrega

Sonata for guitar, Op 77 "Omaggio a Boccherini" Vivo energico
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

This album will please only serious classical guitar enthusi

skepticdude | Bellevue, WA | 07/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Most people who like hearing classical guitar, but who do not play or are rank amateurs, prefer a classical guitar album where the guitar sounds like it could be playing in the room. Technology since the 60's has made that possible for the classical guitar.



However, while this album is a treat to serious classical guitarists because it hallmarks the early days of the legend Segovia, the sound quality, although amaziningly clean sounding, won't satisy the average person.



That being said, the obvious highlight of the album is the fact that it represents how Segovia interpreted the popular guitar pieces back in his early days, before age and experience taught him to prioritize feeling and soul above playing everything at 100 miles per hour.



If I heard this without already knowing who was playing, I would hazard a guess that it must be some young guy who certainly has the chops to blast through the hard stuff real fast, but who is still so low on maturity that he doesn't "feel" the song or let it "flow" from his guitar. Audiences will always applaud fast scales executed swiftly and with precision, as Segovia once said, but I would add this: Their applause is always more enthusiastic when you make the song sing TO the people (la la la la laaaaaa), not AT the people (datdatdatdatdatdat).



Serious guitarists will love this album for allowing them to see how that Segovia's awesome ability already existed in 1927, before most of their parents were even born.



Although the audio quality is not the best, being from 1927-1939, it is nevertheless suprisingly clean, given how most music recorded in that period sounds.



A note to guitarists: You won't be able to play along with this CD even if you are as good as Segovia: his guitar is tuned much higher than normal. I don't know if it was a result of the original records he recorded on having defects, or if Segovia just liked the feel of super-tight strings as he played (as do I).



All in all, this is super-great stuff for guitarists who love Segovia and wish to delve into those early days and see what the legend was like while he was in the making.



But for non-guitarists looking for quality sound and for songs to be played with feeling instead of being played at the speed of light, I'd suggest passing on this one and picking up "Spanish Guitar Favorites" by world-renowned classical guitarist John Williams. The sound on that album is superb, and so is the playing.



Better sound can be heard on "The Seville Concert".



And if you are serious audiophile and wish to have the absolute best modern clarity for a classical guitar album, nothing comes close to John Williams other album "From the Jungles of Paraguay: John Williams plays the music of Augustine Barrios".



That CD represents the best of modern technology to make a classical guitarist sound like he is actually sitting in your living room and playing in front of you. This album is also hated by most serious classical guitarists precisely because it is so utterly clean sounding, whereas, earlier recordings, not using 20-bit technology, thus have a "warmer" sound.



Note to the serious guitarists: If you listen carefully, you can hear the clicks, pops, and white noise that inevitably comes from a record, on each song. Segovia obviously recorded directly to a record while it's grooves were being cut, because they didn't have tapes back then. That extra bit of noise preserves the original authentic sound of the recording. They didn't have perfectly clean digital sound back in those days, and therefore I think the digital remastering technicians who do the work of transposing records onto cd's, have a duty to keep some of the authentic originally intended sound to preserve it's true historical place.



It doesn't get the full 5 stars, because Segovia's youth here caused him to play most of the pieces at lightning speed, and no seasoned guitarist will agree that playing everything at the speed of light is a 5 star record. 5 star ratings are for guitar albums which manage to make their guitar sing TO the audience, not AT the audience.



skepticdude@hotmail.com"

The greatest guitarist who ever lived in early form

moreoreos | Rancho Santa Margarita, CA United States | 04/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Folks, most of these recordings are from before my mother was born (and she was "born a long long time ago" -Beatles) and the sound quality is not equal to what my spoiled ears are used to. But I assure you, these are recordings of the finest classical guitar music ever performed. I've heard many of the late Segovia's recordings, earlier and later in his life, the latter are more mature and crystal clear, measured and beautifully precise. It is however, the roughness and raw power of genious that is captured here, like the birth of a supernova, here is where Segovia's dubbing "the poet of the classical guitar" truely explains itself. But who doesn't know about the greatest maestro this world will ever know? What CD would you keep with you if it was the last one and only one you could ever own?"