Aquarelle Guitar Quartet : Spirit of Brazil : CD

CLARICE ASSAD : Bluezilian; Dancas Nativas – 1) Twisted Samba 2) Reflective Cancao ; 3)  Mad Baiao: VILLA – LOBOS  Bachianas Brasilieras No5 – Aria; String Quartet No1 – Brincadeira: GISMONTI : Palhaco; Memoria e Fado : SERGIO ASSAD: Uarekena: DYENS: Bresils 1)Da Natureza;2)Choro Legal; 3)Marchinha do Ceu 4)Modinhazul 5) O Spirito do  Joao 6)Xaxare : BELLINATI : A Furiosa :

Aquarelle Guitar Quartet

CHANDOS : B001RIGCDS

 This quartet is of course one of the most well – known in the guitar world, and their repertoire is always very interesting making their recordings very much sought after, and moreover has earned a reputation as a dynamic and innovative ensemble, captivating audiences with spell-binding performances.This one is covering the music of Brazil in the modern day, with a number of composers who will be known to many of you.Clarice Assad, the daughter of Sergio opens the album here with her Bluezilian, which is very evocative, full of action and dynamics, and a great opener.Then comes perhaps the most well – known of the tracks here, the Aria from Villa – Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilieras No5 , beautifully played, and then comes his Brincadeira from the 1^st String Quartet, a piece I hadn’t come across before, quite short, but fitting expertly on 4 guitars! Then Clarice Assad’s 3 movement Dancas Nativas, the opening movement Twisted Samba being very rhythmic and melodic, the middle movement Reflective Cancao being quiet and emotional, and showing the player’s wonderful melodic and tone qualities in their performance whilst the finale Mad Baiao is definitely exactly what it implies in the title! Egberto Gismonti is a very well – respected composer from Brazil and next comes his Palhaco a slow piece of writing with some great moments in it. A lovely piece. Then Sergio Assad’s Uarekena (which translates as Change) is a complex piece with moments of very modern harmonies that alternate with much more tonal moments. Again the playing is stunningly good, and everything is constantly on the move! Then we get a set of six pieces from the great and much missed writer/performer Roland Dyens The set called Bresils opens with a very strange and short Da Natureza that almost sounds improvised! Choro Legal is next, which is in a more normal form but still sounds quite a handful, not that the players have any difficulty, because they clearly don’t. The Marchinha do Ceu that follows has a percussive opening before the main theme enters after which the percussive sounds re-enter leading to a very definite and unusual coda. Modinhazul (Blue Fashion) is slow and slightly eerie in its music and you never know where it’s going to go next, but then that is a quality that much of Dyens’ music has. O Spirito do Joao has a much more friendly rhythmic sound to it, as the catchy melody and its harmonies enter. The final movement Xaxare (Scold) is very rhythmic and full of ‘wrong’ notes and yet surprisingly short, as indeed are most of the other 5 movements in this little suite. A work by Paolo Bellinati,A Furiosa is next and again is slightly unexpected in some of its writing, but always fun to hear , and interesting throughout its three and a half minutes. The final work is the second by Gismonti , Memoria E Fado, a piece that closes the album in a reflective mood, and a lovely piece of writing and playing.

So what you get here is a beautifully recorded album, with seemingly effortless performances full of lovely and very varied pieces that you will love getting to know.

Chris Dumigan