José Fernández Bardesio (guitar)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite BWV 996
Chaconne from BWV 1004
Suite BWV 995
Agustίn Barrios (1885-1944)
Mazurka Apasionada
La Catedral
Prelude in A minor
Vals Op. 8 No. 3
rec. 2020
HANSSLER CLASSIC HC21047 [74]
Music is an international language with its own unique and rather precise notation. That said, it does not always mean exactly the same to different musicians. Within a specific genre, one may encounter a different ‘dialect’ where an interpretation has its own distinctive tempi, embellishments, phrasing and garnishing with rubato. Having auditioned this recording, one quickly identifies elements of the aforesaid. This impression is offered as an observation, not a criticism.
The liner notes, by José Fernández Bardesio himself, are comprehensive and informative. Considerable effort is made in rationalizing the thematic connection between Bach and Barrios. Despite what may superficially appear to be two different composers who lived several generations apart, when juxtapositioned the commonalities become more apparent. Certainly in the guitar world, Barrios enjoys status parallel with that of J.S. Bach.
Admiration for the music of Bach overshadowed all else for Barrios. Even before Villa-Lobos composed several Bachianas (Bach-inspired) pieces for guitar, consummately striking the balance with the Baroque style and temperamental South American expressiveness, Barrios wrote probably his most famous work, La Catedral; it is a work profoundly inspired by the music of J.S. Bach. It’s is also his only multi-movement composition. What Segovia originally heard was a work of only two movements composed in 1921. In the last seven years of his life, Barrios added a third movement; it is a tribute to Bach. The Barrios Prelude in A Minor and La Catedral’s first movement echo the flowing streams of arpeggiation found in the Preludes of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier.
Indication, per the liner notes, that Barrios was the first guitarist to make recordings (1913) is without veracity. There are cylinder recordings of guitarists made in the very late 19th century. The one attributed to Franciso Tarrega , despite being his own composition, cannot be verified as authentic.
José Fernández Bardesio was born in Uruguay and began playing the guitar when he was eleven years old. He gave his first public recital at the age of 15. A scholarship from the Federal Republic of Germany enabled him to go to the Cologne College of Music where he completed his research with Hubert Käppel. He has been First Prize Winner in a number of International Competitions. These include the Alirio Diaz Competition (Venezuela), Andrés Segovia Competition Ciudad de Orense (Spain), and Infanta Cristina Competition, Madrid (Spain). Bardesio has also studied with such luminaries as Eduardo Fernández, Abel Carlevaro and Guido Santórsola.
The programme chosen comprises well-known items from the guitar’s repertory; the Prelude in A Minor by Barrios, in that sense, may be the odd man out for some listeners. The key items are the Chaconne from BWV 1004, and the Bach Lute Suites BWV 995 and 996. Among those who have listened to a variety of renditions of Bach’s Lute Suites arranged for the guitar, few will debate that the paradigm of excellence is those recordings by Julian Bream. These began appearing circa 1965. While Bach was prescriptive in style of writing, with atypical attention to ornamentation for his time, guitarists have a good deal of latitude in arrangements for the instrument, but still adhering to informed historical practice. A relevant example is the stunning rendition of the Allemande from BWV 996 recorded by Bream in 1965. The arrangement was modified in his later recordings, albeit with some loss in overall impact.
If one had to identify an individual outstanding gem from this recording, which showcased the overall virtues of
Fernández Bardesio, it would be the Mazurka Apasionada by Barrios. He composed in various styles, and the Romantic European style is strongly evidenced here; both tracks 1 and 13 have that common root. The influence of Chopin can also readily be recognized in this music. One detects a particularly strong empathy for the music in this rendition.
Fernández
Bardesio is a master guitarist who demonstrates high levels of technical command over the instrument, and similar qualities of musicianship, in this recording. In comparing his renditions of Barrios and Bach, one gets the feeling that he is more at home with the former. That feeling is heightened when again listening to Bream play the Bach Lute Suites. There will always be disagreement about the ‘correct’ way to play this music, compounded by one’s overall preference for revered renditions of the past.
The instrument used on this occasion is not identified. However based on the accompanying photographs, and his past employment of an instrument by Daniel Friederich, it would be safe to assume that this same instrument was played here. This recording embodies an enjoyable programme, and fine guitar playing. The juxtaposition of Bach and Barrios’ while thematically interesting, inadvertently displays musicianship more at home with the latter.
Zane Turner
