Search - Tárrega, Narciso Yepes :: Tárrega: Recuerdos De La Alhambra; Lágrima; Danza mora; Etc. [Germany]

Beautiful.... Yepes is infinitely *present*

Mark Twain | Underground, or not. | 07/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you have already discovered Yepes, you probably know why you want to listen to this recording. If not, you are about to meet a lifelong friend."

Very Highly Recommended

A music fan | 09/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A definitive performance of the music of Francisco Tarrega. This record was made in 1983 by the great guitarist Narciso Yepes at the hight of his career."

La Cartagenera saves it from being a 1 star review

Redgecko | USA | 02/08/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"At the risk of offending what is left of the Narciso Yepes fan club, there are much better ways to spend ones money exploring the music of Tarrega. Yepes quit performing in 1993 due to illness, and this CD was released in 1987, which is an exact copy of his 1983 vinyl LP recording. DG should have had Yepes record bonus tracks to fill-out this CD release while he still was able because many standard Tarrega pieces are missing. Where is Capricho Arabe? Where is Tango? And, no Tarrega collection is complete without Estudio Brillante de Alard. Much better to get "Francisco Tarrega, Integral de Guitarra" by David Russell if you can find it (more about this later).



Other technical problems with this recording abound. Recuerdos de la Alhambra, which have been a centerpiece of the album is half the full length because the repeats were not taken. Both Lagrima and Adelita, to take just two examples, lack the sustains on the portamentos that are rendered by better players. The Gran Jota is a full two minutes shorter in length than it might be due to playing too fast.



Finally, some good news. The only reason that one might buy this recording is that it contains the only recording of Tarrega's "La Cartagenera". Why or why no one else has ever recorded it, or why it wasn't included on Russell's recording, I can't imagine. I wrote to Russell about this but he never responded. La Cartagenera is a robust work of about 5.5 minutes in duration and I like it a lot. But if you want to spend almost $40 retail dollars to hear 41 minutes of Yepes playing so-so Tarrega renditions which happen to include this rare recording, then have at it. I have the original vinyl LP and will wait until this CD appears in a bargain bin.





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