Guitar Etudes - The Segovia Collection, Vol. 7

On the second album of the compilation series of Andrés Segovia's works from MCA, the master of the classical guitar plays works from three of the major composers for guitar in the Spanish tradition. The first four tracks are portions of "Fantasia Para un Gentilhombre," a piece written exclusively for Segovia by his friend, the blind composer Joaquin Rodrigo. The piece includes accompaniment from the Symphony of the Air, with Enrique Jorda conducting. The work is stunning in its grandeur and almost seems to be an influence of Gil Evans' later arrangements in style (though, of course, Evans had other influences to deal with for Sketches of Spain). The second cluster of tracks make up the "Concierto del Sur" by Mexico's first national composer, Manuel Maria Ponce, again with accompaniment from the Symphony of the Air. Finally, eight tracks at the end of the album contain Federico Moreno Torroba's "Castles of Spain." The main highlights of the album are perhaps the third movement of Ponce's piece, "Allegro Moderato E Festivo," and the solo work on Torroba's works, which depict a different castle within each movement. As with all of the installments of the Segovia Collection, fans of guitar, classical guitar, Spanish guitar, Spanish classical, or Segovia himself will all be delighted; though first-time listeners may wish to look into the Bach album (volume one) or the Spanish guitar album (volume five).