January 6, 2016

  • Contempoary Guitar Works Featuring Ali Arango

     

    Ali Arango—Guitar Recital
    Ali Arango, guitar.
    Naxos 8.573506
    Total Time:  70:28
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Cuban guitarist Ali Arango was the winner of the 2014 “Alhambra” International Guitar Competition.  His teachers have included Joaquin Clerch and Leo Brouwer.  Both feature prominently in Arango’s recital recorded this past July (2015) amid a hose of his own compositions and a work by David del Puerto (b. 1964).  The ample disc provides a host of world premiere recordings, only El Decameron Negro by Brouwer has been recorded before.

    The first half of the program features two works by Brouwer (b. 1939).  The program opens with the recent Danzas Rituales y Festivas which was premiered by Arango in 2014.  The three-movement work is a blend of Impressionism and folk music influences.  The centerpiece is the “Habanera Trunca” with a somewhat languid style that has an interesting twist to its melody and unique harmonic ideas.  The outer movements provide a couple of interesting modernized approaches to other folk dance styles.  El Decameron Negro (1981) takes its inspiration from an early 20th-Century collection of African folk tales.  It is cast as well in three movements that move from a romantic style in the opening movement, through an interesting central movement with a sense of forward motion that sets up a more atonal-influenced final movement with rapid passagework and a more dramatic flair.  Brouwer’s music is often most striking in the delicate textures and harmonies of his slower musical moments and these are abundant in these works.  The gradual tempo and rhythmic ideas that become part of the faster virtuoso sections provide just the right balance especially in El Decameron Negro.

    A sort of encore to this first portion appears in Joaquin Clerch’s Estudio No. 4para el Anular (2015).  Guitarists are perhaps a bit more familiar with the technical explorations of CIerch’s other Estudios.  This one, designed for Arango, focuses on exploring the use of the “anular” or ring finger of the right hand.

    Shifting to exploring more formal structures and expressiveness, David del Puerto’s Fantasia y Rondo provides another example of Arango’s consummate skill.  The first part is a fantasia in three sections exploring the guitar’s range.  The Rondo has more of a toccata feel.  The music here also has a more modern feel, though without really experimental gestures, the sound tends to fall into place with 20th Century guitar literature quite well.

    The next four works are all by Arango and tend to be more modern in their harmonic and melodic style.  They explore Afro-Cuban rhythms and musical contours occasionally paying homage to the lineage the instrument has and to his own teachers.  The first of these, Opfergabe, has a few interesting strumming ideas that provide a bit of vitality to an equally impressionistic like dream piece.  Paralelepipedo Isocrono sobre un Panaculo Hilcoidal also has a fascinating slow dramatic build and like Escenas del Des-Equinoccio feature some additional techniques such as knocking against the body of the instrument along with strumming techniques.  These help to further point out Arango’s own versatility to display his virtuosic abilities.

    Finally, the disc closes with Guajiras de Lucia (1969).  The oldest work in this recital is a nod to its composer, Paco de Lucia, and his contributions to the flamenco repertoire.  The piece here is one of the composer’s most popular works oft-performed by guitarists.

    This is a rather accessible collection of modern works for guitar.  The release is well-recorded with a nice distance between the soloist and the listener well imaged here.  The performances are all well done and provide an opportunity for Ali Arango to begin making his own mark on the rich heritage of classical guitar.