AGUSTIN BARRIOS MANGOR

Complete Music for Solo Guitar Cristiano Porqueddu, guitar (6 CD), Brilliant Classics, 2010, 9204 Cristiano Porqueddu, with his epic recording projects, is establishing himself as a true marathon man of recording, capable of undertakings on the guitar that, until recently, seemed impossible. Returning from the fortunate recording of another mammoth work, the entiretyof 60 Studi of Vitruosit and Trascendenza by Angelo Gilardino, the bold Sardinian guitarist has immediately started off on a new and equally ambitious project; the full recording of the works of Agustin Barrios Mangore, one of the most outstanding and revolutionary exponents in the history of guitar. If the challenge posed by Gilardino was to overcome the new barriers put in place by the innovative and previously unheard writing by the composer from Vercelli, taking on Barrios means braving his genius pages, which implies delving into the language par excellence of the classic guitar. This involves a repertoire of exceptional difficulty, both in terms of expression and technique, dominated by the most varied stimuli and returns. The music of Barrios features South America with the entire melting pot of its various folklore souls, but there are also the hints of Romantic and Baroque European culture (with major tribute to Bach), as well as the

moods of musical entertainment of the era (dance and drawing room dance, often hybridized, according to the norms of the early decades of the 1900s, with European style references), but there are also moments of greater suspense, almost indecipherable, whereby the rapport between the composer-performer and the cords of his instrument become pure creation. In these works the intensity and singability go hand in hand with the virtuoso techniques, and where Barrioss pen often invents and devises completely original instrumental effects and combinations. It is, basically, a guitar in all respects that, in addition to the most strictly technical and musical aspects, also holds countless difficulties for the performer in relation to the recognition and adherence to precise stylistic references, to name but one aspect, in a truly vast body of work (110 tracks in total). This is one of the chief points of weakness that cause hardship for any performers who take on the music of Barrios, which is interpreted too lightly or too affected, very often based only on the mechanical arrangement of the parts. Therefore, the most striking aspect in the six volumes of the recording put to us by Porqueddu is that high level of artistic maturity that he asserts when taking on this colossal material, without showing any sign of folding along the entire arch of the interpretation, and it is therefore a truly commendable feat. Whether interpreting the most recognised titles, such as the Catedral, or the smaller, lesser known pages (the collection also has numerous first-

time recordings) they are, essentially, returned by Porqueddu with all their most genuine expressive soul intact. If the virtuoso is called for, the interpreter does not hold back and has all means at disposal (see certain studies of concerts, such as Las Abejas, taken on with sureness and skill). If singing is the order of the day, however, the most varied accents come forth, depending on whether the vein inclines more to wards folk or noble style, all conducted with the utmost participation and elegance at all times. An example of how much the depth of interpretation drives certain pages is supplied by the equally renowned Julia Florida, which Porqueddu delivers with tones that are truly moving in parts. From a composition view point, the entire body of work clearly possesses the inevitable drops in tone (there are many album pages which are quite dullor tracks that are blatantly popular or strictly for effect, that we imagine they thrilled the stalls in the picturesque performance entrusted to the hands of Barrios himself); however, on listening of the entire box-set and its numerous titles, we are able to discover some hidden treasures alongside the pages that are already accredited, jewels that deserve to feature more often in the everyday concert set-list. However, in terms of the vast repertoire offered, it exceeds the purposes of this score, to which we restrict ourselves to reaffirming only how Porqueddu has certainly been able to provide an encore of the full success of his first successful Gilardinian release. Instead, when considering the tough terrain he has come across we contemplate how he has managed to

draw a fully credible, intensely expressive portrait of the music of Barrios, providing numerous elements for a full re-evaluation of pages misguidedly considered less important. The only minor fault we can detect is loss of control of intonation of the instrument in certain stretches, and it is a real pity as without fear of corrections his recording can absolutely be held as a point of reference that also throws a new light on the figure of Barrios himself, which is perhaps still too mistreated. Congratulations are well deserved!

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