{"id":11475,"date":"2018-12-03T16:12:43","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T00:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=11475"},"modified":"2019-01-15T16:06:08","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T00:06:08","slug":"recent-album-releases-george-sakellariou-guitar-duo-piera-dadomo-duo-canella-dubes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/recent-album-releases-george-sakellariou-guitar-duo-piera-dadomo-duo-canella-dubes\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Album Releases: George Sakellariou; Guitar Duo Piera Dadomo & Vincenzo Torricella; Duo Canella-Dub\u00e8s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some weeks we take a peek at recent albums or sheet music releases. Here are three of the CDs that have come into the\u00a0Classical Guitar<\/em>\u00a0office within the past few months.<\/p>\n

If you have a CD you\u2019d like to submit to us, here\u2019s our address:<\/p>\n

Classical Guitar
\n501 Canal Blvd. suite J
\nRichmond, CA 94804-3505<\/p>\n

Some of the albums I write about online will be reviewed in the magazine, some not. But we want to at least mention most of them here. You can listen to some of these on various of streaming services, but we always encourage you to support the artists by actually\u00a0buying<\/em>\u00a0anything you like! Obviously we cannot research and report every outlet or online business where these albums are sold (Amazon, for instance, has outlets in many different countries\/regions, but we generally link to the U.S. version), so check your favorite places that sell CDs and downloads!<\/p>\n

To see links to all of our online album listings\/reviews,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2014Blair Jackson<\/em><\/p>\n

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\nThe Sound of Torres<\/strong><\/em>
\nGeorge Sakellariou<\/strong>
\nGSI Foundation<\/p>\n

The subtitle of this album is “Music from Bach to the Rolling Stones”; that certainly got my attention! And then there’s the matter of the two guitars employed by George Sakellariou: A pair of historic models crafted by Antonio de Torres\u2014an 1862 from the luthier’s “first epoch,” nicknamed “La Leyenda”; and an 1888 model from the Secunda Epoca<\/em>, “La Novia.” It’s a wonderful match of player, guitars, and repertoire; as satisfying an album that has crossed my desk in a while.<\/p>\n

The album is dominated by five “sets” of pieces, four of them sharing the same composer, one a thematic linkage. It opens with four from J.S. Bach, with the much-played “Prelude” from Cello Suite No. 1 (BWV 1007) kicking off the program beautifully, the tones of the 1888 Torres so warm and inviting, the playing fluid and unhurried. Right off the bat we should applaud the work of recording and mixing engineer Kai Narezo for a job very well done. The “Allemande” and the moving “Sarabande” from the First Lute Suite follow, and then the Bach mini-set concludes, interestingly enough, with a second “Prelude,” this one from Cello Suite No. 3, also delightful.<\/p>\n

Fernando Sor had been dead less than 25 years when the 1862 Torres was built, so Sakellariou’s choice of two Sor studies to play on that instrument\u2014both lovely and involving pieces despite their brevity\u2014really feels like a window into the past. The guitarist splits his pair of selections from Erik Satie between the two guitars, and in trying to A-B the sound of each, it’s hard for me tell whether the differences I’m hearing are in the guitars or in the compositions: Je Te Veux i<\/em>s a bright waltz, and Gnossienne I<\/em>\u00a0casts a darker, more exotic light; both sound “right.” Then, it’s two short preludes from Manuel Ponce\u2014both rich with Spanish flavors\u2014followed by exquisitely played\u00a0milongas<\/em> from Abel Fleury and Astor Piazzolla. Though in his album notes Sakellariou mentions that Abel Carlevaro told him his Campo “Preludio Americano”<\/em> was inspired by Bach polyphony, it somehow feels the most “modern” on the album to me, with its skittering, irregular high melody punctuating the more graceful and even bass tones. Emilio Pujol’s Estudio VIII<\/em> has a special resonance here, as the 1888 Torres on which it is played was first owned by Matilde Cuervas and then, following her death, by her husband. . . the great Emilio Pujol.<\/p>\n

As for the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black,” I’ll be honest and say I was skeptical about its appearance in the program. It’s been a favorite song of mine for more than 50 years; every microsecond of the original is burned into my consciousness. So imagine my surprise to discover that\u00a0 Sakellariou’s arrangement fits in perfectly<\/em> with everything that has preceded it. I can almost hear Bach in some of the melody, and the vibe of Fleury’s Milongueo del Ayer<\/em>, and Spanish touches that almost hint at T\u00e1rrega. He manages to alter the tempo and rhythm of the original at will, but without losing its propulsive thread; quite an achievement!<\/p>\n

The album closer is also a wonder: In a nod to his Greek heritage, Sakellariou serves up a delectable melody from Zorba the Greek<\/em>, by Mikis Theodorakis. This is not the famous main theme, but an achingly pretty ballad, a wonderful grace note on which to close the program. As you can probably tell, I highly recommend this album! In fact, it’s the disc I chose to accompany my family Thanksgiving feast a couple of weeks ago, and it received raves from all those in attendance, none of them classical guitar aficionados.<\/p>\n

Prelude BWV 1007<\/em>; Allemande BWV 996<\/em>; Sarabande BWV 996;<\/em> Prelude BWV 1009<\/em> (all by J.S. Bach); Estudio Op. 35 No. 18<\/em> (Sor); Estudio Op. 60 No. 22<\/em> (Sor); Je Te Veux<\/em> (Satie); Gnossienne I<\/em> (Satie); Preludio in B<\/em> (Ponce); Preludio in A<\/em> (Ponce); Milongueo del Ayer<\/em> (Fleury); Milonga Carrieguera, ‘Maria de Buenos Aires’<\/em> (Piazzolla); Campo ‘Preludio Americano’<\/em> (Carlevaro); Estudio VIII<\/em> (Pujol); Paint It Black<\/em> (Jagger\/Richards); Life Goes On<\/em> (Theodorakis)<\/p>\n

The Sound of Torres<\/em> can be purchased through GSI<\/a>, bought and\/or streamed though\u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0iTunes\/Apple Music<\/a>, and streamed on Spotify<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are two tracks from the album: The first features the 1862 Torres on Abel Fleury’s <\/em>Milongueo del Ayer, the second the 1888 Torres on the Rolling Stones’ <\/em>Paint it Black.\u00a0<\/em>
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