Aquarelle Guitar Quartet - Spirit of Brazil (2009)

Artista: Aquarelle Guitar Quartet

Álbum: Spirit of Brazil
Año: 2009
Género: Clásica / Docta / Folk / World Music
Duración: 58:43
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra

Lista de Temas:
1. Bluezilian (Clarice Assad)
2. Aria: Cantilena (arr. for guitar quartet) / Bachianas brasileiras No. 5 (arr. for guitar quartet): Bachianas brasileiras No. 5: (Heitor Villa-Lobos)
3. String Quartet No. 1 (arr. for guitar quartet): String Quartet No. 1: II. Brincadeira (Heitor Villa-Lobos - arr. for guitar quartet)
4. Dancas Nativas: I. Twisted Samba (Clarice Assad)
5. Dancas Nativas: II. Reflective Cancao (Clarice Assad)
6. Dancas Nativas: III. Mad Baiao (Clarice Assad)
7. Palhaco (Egberto Gismonti - arr. for guitar quartet)
8. Uarekena (Sérgio Assad)
9. I. Da Natureza (Roland Dyens)
10. II. Choro Legal (Roland Dyens)
11. III. Marchinha do ceu (Roland Dyens)
12. IV. Modinhazul (Roland Dyens)
13. V. O Spirito do Joao (Roland Dyens)
14. VI. Xaxare (Roland Dyens)
15. A furiosa (Paulo Bellinati)
16. Memoria e Fado (Egberto Gismonti - arr. for guitar quartet)

Alineación:
- Michael Baker, Vasilis Bessas, James Jervis, Rory Russell / Guitarras

Y ya que Artie se vino con las guitarritas en el posteo anterior, le sigo la onda para no perder la sintonía (también porque hace poco publicamos el disco "Solos" de Gismonti)....
Y en principio vamos a presentar a los músicos, que si bien son reconocidos y admirados en cierto círculo, no es conocido por el común de los mortales (ojo, yo no los conocía hasta hace un tiempito y por ello quiero presentarlos).
Formado originalmente en 1999 en Inglaterra, el cuarteto se centró en estudiar las obras de guitarristas de renombre como Sérgio Assad, Oscar Ghiglia y Scott Tennant, incluso estudiaron con ellos para perfeccionar su estilo. Hoy son reconocidos como uno de los grupos de música de cámara líderes de Gran Bretaña, el Aquarelle Guitar Quartet es un conjunto dinámico e innovador conocido por su extraordinario conjunto en el rendimiento y extenso repertorio. Ha realizado giras por todo el mundo presentando la música de todo el mundo y que abarca el período comprendido entre el renacimiento hasta nuestros días. Las obras de muchos compositores internacionales han sido interpretados por ellos.
Otra fuente de material para la AGQ (es medio larg su nombre, me gusta más así) está en constante expansión de su repertorio formado por sus propios arreglos de música de varios géneros, incluyendo obras de Gismonti, Mussorgsky, Rossini, incluso música de películas.

El grupo también participa constantemente en proyectos educativos de divulgación y sos invitados regularmente a impartir clases magistrales. Han grabado 4 álbumes: "Danzas" en el 2010, "Spirit of Brazil" que presentamos ahora, "Final Cut" (2012) y "Cuatro" (2013), discos que recibieron elogios de la crítica y la prensa. La BBC Music Magazine otorgó a "Spirit of Brazil" cinco estrellas, y comentando:

"with outstanding playing and infectious spirit, this is no mere niche guitar CD, but a luscious and lively general-appeal winner"

"Danzas" también recibió excelentes críticas, y Record International Review realizó esta crítica:

"After a first hearing, I felt as if I had musically travelled all over the world and was more than ready to get back on the plane for another round-trip"
"All four guitarists have shared the arranging between them; the results are uniformly excellent, with the parts well distributed and all the coloristic resources of the guitar exploited"
"this British ensemble seems incapable of playing with less than a glorious range of sound, perfect ensemble, and exquisite taste. This is superb playing, and the music is ravishing"

Por su parte, "Final Cut" que es un CD con arreglos del propio grupo de temas cinematográficos célebres, fue elegido como CD de la semana por Classic FM Drive, en el mes de su lanzamiento, obtuvo una revisión de cinco estrellas por la revista Time Out y desde entonces se ha dado un reconocimiento especial al grupo por varios de los medios especializados:

"Every so often a CD lands on your desk, travels to the player and stays there, going round and round and round…So I’ll just hit the pause button to read the name on that shiny piece of plastic – Final Cut by the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet. Right, press play again..."

El repertorio de este raro disco los liga a la guitarra enraizada en Brasil. El grupo se extiende en esto y comenta: "Nos hemos inspirado en la música de Brasil tanto como solistas y como grupo. Lejos de ser sólo una propiedad nacional de España, la guitarra es parte integral de la música y la cultura de Brasil y en este disco hemos tratado de representar la amplitud de su música, de la disciplina clásica de Villa-Lobos a las cualidades de improvisación propias de Gismonti". El resultado es una colección de piezas que no están disponibles actualmente en cualquier otra grabación; desde Clarice Assad (que no conocía y su trabajo es realmente delicioso, y cuya composición "Danças Nativas" se llegó a grabar aquí por primera vez ya que fue escrita especialmente para este ensamble, mientras que el Cuarteto tuvo el honor de estrenar "Bluezilian" en 2006) pasando por Sergio Assad, Roland Dyens, Gismonti, Villa-Lobos hasta Paulo Bellinati (quien tampoco conocía).
El disco, si bien es de música docta, también está profundamente influenciado por la música popular brasilera, haciendo una mezcla interesantísima formada por temas de compositores originales y musicalmente geniales.

Y presentamos algunos comentarios pero esta vez realizado por algunos de los compositores que intervienen en los temas de este disco:

I urge to convey my warmest congratulations to Aquarelle Guitar Quartet. Not only the best version of my Bresils ever but probably one of the most touching guitar quartet I’ve ever heard. I adored this cd full of musical cleverness and sensitivity.

Roland Dyens

I want to congratulate you guys for this beautiful record!!! I thought everything was great, from the sound, the balance, the mixing and your exquisite playing!!! I thought your guys rendition of Uarekena was the best I've heard. Clarice's pieces sounded fresh and live, Villa Lobos very expressive, Dyens really true to his Brazilian trip and Gismonti the closest I have heard to his own playing. Congratulations again for this great, great record!!!

Sergio Assad

It is always a thrill for composers to hear their work come to life in ways they had not even anticipated. It was an added element of surprise when I heard the first recording of the piece as it exceeded my expectations on this work. I could not have been more pleased.

Clarice Assad

Y como siempre, algunas opiniones de terceros:

I’ve had the privilege of watching the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet transform over the years from a thrown-together student group at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester to a highly polished chamber ensemble consisting of mature, experienced and immensely talented players. This disc reveals their capacity to feel and shape music as one and it is a fantastic showcase for their incredible virtuosity. Although tied together by a common geography, there is so much variety in this collection of works as to guarantee many, many hours of wonderful listening.’ So Craig Ogden has written on the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.
This young group was formed at the Royal Northern College of Music under the guidance of Craig Ogden and Gordon Crosskey. The Quartet has earned a reputation as a dynamic and innovative ensemble, captivating audiences with eclectic repertoire and spell-binding performances. Since its formation it has performed extensively across the UK and abroad to critical acclaim. The two founding members, Vasilis Bessas and Michael Baker, are joined by Rory Russell and by James Jervis who has arranged two of the pieces performed on this recording.
This rarely recorded repertoire is linked by Brazil. The group expands on this: ‘Both as soloists and as a group, all four of us have been inspired by the music of Brazil. Far from being just the national property of Spain, the guitar is integral to the music and culture of Brazil and in this record we have endeavoured to represent a breadth of music, from the classical discipline of Villa-Lobos to the improvisational qualities of Gismonti.’ The result is a collection of pieces not currently available on any other recording; Clarice Assad’s Danças Nativas is even recorded here for the first time.
Of particular significance to the group is the work of Clarice and Sérgio Assad. The music of Clarice Assad was first introduced to the group through her father, Sérgio. The Quartet had the honour of premiering Clarice Assad’s Bluezilian in 2006, and Danças Nativas was written for the ensemble. Sérgio Assad’s own Uarekena is also included on the disc. Villa-Lobos is among the most influential South-American composers, and the guitar is inseparable from his œuvre. The haunting aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 is performed in an arrangement for guitar quartet; the ‘Brincadeira’ originated in the composer’s String Quartet No. 1. The transcription of Gismonti’s Palhaço is by James Jervis, one of the members of the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.
This disc is certain to increase the profile of the ensemble and draw attention to the wide-ranging and colourful repertoire available for guitar quartet.

Presto Classical

... there are gems such as the successful arrangement of Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No 5 by former Aquarelle member Richard Safhill, and the incredible six-movement Brésils by Roland Dyens, in which the AGQ manage convincingly to sound like an Amazonian rainforest and a marching band at the Carnival de Rio. Guitarquartetophobes - your cure has arrived!

Gramophone

If one guitar quartet can give a traditional string quartet a run for its money in terms of abundant technique and breathtaking artistry, it is the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet

Robert Levet

This young quartet, formed at the Royal Northern College of Music presents a broad collection of Brazilian pieces. The precision of the playing is outstanding and covers a range of styles and moods, from string quartet pieces transferred to the guitar to ‘A Furiosa’, a piece written to celebrate Brazilian street music. This is a varied n ad extremely enjoyable piece of work encompassing elements of Jazz and blues and incorporating interesting and at times unpredictable rhythms.

Acoustic

If one guitar quartet can give a traditional string quartet a run for its money in terms of abundant technique and artistry, it is the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.

International Record Review

Un disco hermoso, quizás (al menos para mí) no para todos los días, pero en el momento oportuno, poner un disco como éste te lleva a las nubes, tanto por la sesibilidad de los instrumentistas como por su competencia con su guitarra, y además por las hermosas composiciones que tocan. Yo, por mi parte, quedé fascinado con Clarice Assad, si alguien consigue el teléfono de esa mujer por favor que me lo pase...

www.aquarellegq.com
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