Rodrigo: Fantasia para un gentilhombre

Another great LP, this collection of two of Rodrigo's most popular compositions by Charles Dutoit and the Montreal orchestra. The recording dates from 1981 and hence is a very early digital recording. However, the sound is absolutely glorious: spacious, richly layered, dynamic, warm yet detailed. It belies the cliché that all early digital productions were plagued by harsh and glassy sound. Apparently the Decca engineers knew what they were doing.

Of these two compositions the Fantasia para un gentilhombre is very much my favourite. Rodrigo wrote it in 1954 at the request of Andres Segovia. It is a superbly poised, gracious work with luminous chamber music-like textures. Structurally it is conceived as a sequence of four movements, based on six dances which Rodrigo pulled from a 17th century instructional work for guitar. Dutoit and his band are very skillfull in drawing out the work's jewel-like qualities, revelling in  the score's many soloistic passages and producing a superbly polished orchestral sound in the denser passages. I've always been impressed by the engaging performance of the solo part by British guitarist Carlos Bonell. Always a pleasure to return to.