ERNESTO HERNANDEZ LUNAGOMEZ: Siena, Homenaje A Andrew York (Dedicated To Cecilio Perera): JULIO CESAR OLIVA : Imágenes de Yucatán; Sonata Para - El Final de Los Tiempos (Dedicated To Cecilio Perera); ANONYMOUS/ TRADITIONAL (Arr. Julio Cesar Oliva): La Ilorona: JORGE RITTER : Tres Piezas: CECILIO PERERA : Marina : ALFREDO TAMAYO (Arr Cecilio Perera ) : Sueño, "Soñó Mi Mente Loca" : CUTBERTO CORDOVA: Mabi: JUAN HELGUERA : Un Retrato: GERARDO TAMEZ: Aires de Son.
Cecilio Perera
Naxos: 8.573674
To many guitarists the music from Mexico immediately brings Manuel Ponce to mind and all his wonderful guitar pieces he wrote for Segovia, and others. However this album proves that there is a lot more to the Mexican guitar world than its most famous composer.
The opener Siena by Lunagomez is a real handful, because after the slow almost moody opening it suddenly takes off with a hugely difficult set of fast runs involving many hammer – ons and pull- offs in quick succession; a really exciting beginning.
Julio Cesar Oliva is a composer whose music I have seen many times and it is always beautifully written and lovely to play. The three – movement Imagenes de Yucatan is full of lovely harmonies, great melodies very effective writing, and a very substantial work. The traditional melody La Llorona is a warm melodic work, arranged very successfully by Oliva, and is short but entertaining.
Jorge Ritter’s Three Pieces for Guitar beginning with an opening Rapido, and indeed it is exactly what it says but having a more modern approach to its harmonies whilst still remaining tonal. The following Andante continues in the same slightly enigmatic vein, with the final Jaleo, a swift and dynamic end to this interesting set of pieces.
Next our player becomes the composer, with Marina, which is warm, friendly and topped by a lovely melody.
Another piece by Oliva is next, the substantial Sonata – El Final de los Tiempos, and often in quite a different mood to a lot of his other pieces that I have come across, as it is very serious but a gripping listen none the less, with the final movement Paraiso Recobrado (Paradise Regained) providing a welcome amount of happiness and confidence to bring the piece to a convincing close.
Sueno by Alfredo Tamayo is an arrangement by Perera of this song written in 1895, and follows the style of traditional music from Yucatan, Mexico. It is warm, with a beautiful melody and a lovely additional to the recording, as is the next piece by Cutberto Cordova, another name that was entirely new to me, which is a great shame because Mabi is a wonderful piece of writing by this guitarist/composer/teacher. Mexican guitarist, composer, chronicler and researcher Juan Helguera contributes Un Retrato which is a thoughtful, and contemplative with the occasional slightly acidic chord that adds just a little ache to the piece.
The final three movement work is by contemporary Gerardo Tamez, who has written a huge amount of music for guitar in all its combinations .Aires de Son begins with a haunting Aire Itsmeno, which moves around swiftly with a memorable melody attached to all its arpeggiation. Quedo is slower and full of haunting chord progressions, with one or two that are unexpected, but that only adds to its appeal and it has moments of sudden pizzicato passages that momentarily take the piece into a faster speed. The final Son Trunco is vivacious and excitingly written, full of surprises, and is a great conclusion to what is a lovely piece of writing .Again, I am surprised that I have never seen music by this fine composer, especially as he has written such a lot.
So in summation this is a set of recordings that will be completely new to the greater majority of listeners, but do not be worried, as it is all very varied in actual musical styles and yet utterly approachable and will provide you with many hours of entertainment. The playing and recording of course is, as you might expect, exceptional.
Chris Dumigan