John Williams Spanish Guitar Music

The Best Classical Guitarist in the World

All of the music on this disc was recorded for Columbia Records between 1964 and 1970 for release on four different LP albums. These are those albums (and I've had them all for 35 years):

COLUMBIA RECORDS PRESENTS JOHN WILLIAMS (1964)
VIRTUOSO MUSIC FOR GUITAR (1965)
MORE VIRTUOSO MUSIC FOR GUITAR (1967)
JOHN WILLIAMS PLAYS SPANISH MUSIC (1970)

Fourteen of the first fifteen tracks here are from the 1970 LP and are presented in their original sequence. Track 6, "El Colibri" by Segreras, is not from that LP. It here replaces the proper sixth LP track, "Valses Poeticos" by Granados, which strangely has been omitted from this collection entirely. Otherwise, the album, certainly one of Williams's greatest, would have been complete on this disc.

What follows is a complete list of the Spanish and Latin American pieces included on the three earlier LPs and in the original sequences (* signifies omission from this collection):

COLUMBIA RECORDS PRESENTS JOHN WILLIAMS
"Sevilla"
"Recuerdos de la Alhambra"
"Fandanguillo"
"Soleares" (Turina) *
"Rafaga" (Turina) *
"El Testemen de Amelia"
"Scherzino Mexicano" (Ponce) *
"El Colibri"

VIRTUOSO MUSIC FOR GUITAR
"Spanish Dance No. 5"
Etude No. 8 (Villa-Lobos) *
"Homenaje a Debussy"

MORE VIRTUOSO MUSIC FOR GUITAR
"Fantasia..." (Mudarra)
"Diferencias Sobre el Conde Claros" (Mudarra) *
Prelude No. 4 (V-L)
Prelude No. 2 (V-L) *
"Aires de la Mancha" (Moreno-Torroba) *

Better choices could have been made from this pool. I myself would have included the "Valses Poeticos" and left out the Villa-Lobos. I've always been bowled over by JW's approach to Spanish repertoire, but don't find him completely convincing with Villa-Lobos' music which in my opinion benefits greatly from a "warmer" touch (like Bream's). Most certainly, the inclusion of these Segreras and Villa-Lobos pieces in a "Spanish" recital is a bit strange, although they're both showy and can be loosely associated with Spanish guitar. Turina's "Rafaga" is one of JW's most fiery performances and could have made the cut. One could in fact make a compelling case for all three Turina pieces from the first LP. Happily, another JW disc which draws from the same recordings, SPANISH GUITAR FAVORITES, does have both the "Valses Poeticos" and all the Turina, and is also available on Amazon.

Quibbling aside, these performances were at the time (and still are) STARTLINGLY good. It's difficult to convey nowadays just how impossible it seemed in 1970 that a human being could play like this. This music is difficult to play and nobody had ever done it with such confidence and ease. I'll never forget seeing JW in 1971 and looking around the hall to see faces uniformly agog.

There are three different packagings for this same disc. I have not heard them all and am in no position to comment as to their relative value. Thank you for reading.
August 27, 2007

Brilliant in many ways

'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.
October 4, 2005

classical gems

A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's; the sound throughout is excellent, and the total time 73:46. July 9, 2003

Nobody Does It Better

I regard the recording of "Leyenda" on this CD the best. All other recordings are weak, especially during the buildup of the arpeggio and the strummed chords. Williams is the only guitarist I've heard (including Segovia) to give this dramatic masterpiece the dose of power it deserves--from the bright arpeggio to the whipsaw chordal strums. Other great performances on this CD are "Canarios," "Sonata in D," "Madronos," "Cordoba," and "Recuerdos de la Alhambra." To give an indication of just how powerful Williams' playing is, I've heard Christopher Parkening's and David Brandon's duo (which I highly regard) performance of "The Miller's Dance," and found it lacking the dynamism and excitement of Williams' solo performance. A few of the other compositions on this CD don't appeal to me much; otherwise, I'd rate this CD higher. November 23, 2001

Good CD

Nice round choice of pieces, well performed. Naturally there are favorites, but overall, a lovely work. October 15, 2001

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