Echomythia CD

In “Echomythia” my interest focused on modern music for guitar and especially on such music orienting itself towards jazz and latin sounds. Besides, the original title of this CD was “Jazz, Latin and Brazilian vibes for guitar”; however, the synthetic word “Echomythia” attracted me because of its poetical spirit. Some of the compositions contained in “Echomythia” stem directly from jazz and they have been arranged or just transcribed for solo classic guitar. Alongside with them, authentic guitar works are also presented. Some of these works have been regarded, for many years, as landmarks in the guitar repertoire; some others, although not so well known, are to be considered as significant contributions to the literature of the instrument. The curtain opens with two swings of Raphaël Faÿs (b. 1960): “Romantique voyage” and “Dans les yeux de Michèle”, here arranged using Faÿs' raw materials, i.e. Faÿs' jazz trio (leed guitar, rhythm guitar and bass). The French musician is regarded as a skillful successor of Django Reinhardt's tradition and one of the very few guitarists combining jazz and classical music both as a performer and a composer. The music of the Belgian gypsy composer Django Reinhardt (1910–1953) is our next stop, the very well known “Nuages” (The Clouds). It is an original swing, arranged with particular success by an expert of this kind, Roland Dyens. Reinhardt, figuring among the most famous jazz performers of all times, has moved and astonished many generations of guitarists and friends of jazz. Quite a few different versions of “Nuages” have been left in discography by Reinhardt; in any case, “Nuages”, alongside with “Minor Swing”, “My Sweet”, “Belleville”, and “Djangology”, is one of his most recognizable works. Quite close to the jazz climate, though enriched with elements of the Brazilian music tradition, are the next four pieces of the Brazilian guitarist and composer Marco Pereira (b. 1956): “Plainte” (brazilian waltz), “Tio Boros” (street samba), “Marta” (brazilian waltz) and “Pixaim” (frevo). They make classic guitar technique incorporate techniques of the brazilian jazz guitar. Interesting innovations are the “slaps”, which are not normally used in classical music. As for the Paraguayan composer Agustín Barrios-Mangoré (1885–1944), special references need not be provided. He was the most influential guitarist of the first half of the twentieth century and the first who recorded music for solo guitar on gramophone discs. From his numerous works, two of the less well known are here presented: “Preludio” in C minor and “Las Abejas” (The Bees). The first one is a sensitive introduction and the second one a piece which belongs to the category of Barrios's “mimetic” compositions, alongside with the more acquainted “La Catedral” (The Cathedral) and “Un sueño en la floresta” (A dream in the forest). Nevertheless, the most important guitar composer of the second half of the twentieth century may well be Roland Dyens (b. 1955). Indeed, Guitarist magazine rated him among the hundred best guitarists worldwide, no matter of what specific kind. Since many years his music has been an integral part of the guitar repertoire. Two of his compositions are presented in “Echomythia”, which again belong to the ones not frequently listened to. The first one, “Valse des Loges” (Dressing room valse), which belongs to the collection bearing the general title “Trois pièces polyglottes”, was written progressively, during Dyens' waiting in various concert hall dressing rooms; whereas the second one, “Hommage à Villa-Lobos”, is dedicated to the national composer of Brazil, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and in fact it consists of four parts: “Climazonie”, “Danse caractérielle et bachianinha”, “Andantinostalgie” and “Tuhũ”. However, only the last two parts are presented in this disc. Afterwards, here come th