Joaquin Rodrigo’s music captured my attention last year. Rodrigo successfully gambled that the guitar could hold its own with an orchestra.
I blogged about those hours of enjoyable listening in these posts:
RODRIGO: Complete Orchestral Music (Volumes 1-4)
RODRIGO: Complete Orchestral Music (Volumes 5-9)
Spanish Guitar Duel: Gallen vs. Romero
Complete Concertos for Guitar and Harp is a Philips re-release of digitally remastered recordings from the 1970s. On this 2-disc set, Sir Neville Marriner conducts Los Romeros and The Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Philips also re-released most of these same recordings as Los Romeros: The Rodrigo Collection. My reaction is that the “Complete Concertos” release is the better buy. 2-discs, lots of good Rodrigo music, all of the cuts featured on the “Los Romeros” branded disc, for $2 less.
One of my favorite Rodrigo melodies appears in his Concierto andaluz. Click on the links below to hear the orchestra, then The Romeros, carry this stirring melodic strand.
1st clip – Concierto andaluz – melodic clip – 30s – Rodrigo – Philips disc (click to play, MP3, 30sec) – as carried by the orchestra
2nd clip – Conceirto andaluz – 2nd clip – 26s – Rodrigo – Philips disc (click to play, MP3, 26sec) – the same melody carried by Los Romeros on their guitars
If you like this melody, what about it do you like?
