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If you are an aficionado of the vihuela, this is a must-have recording. Not only is one of the most virtuosic recordings in my library, it provides significant representation of the vihuela fantasia: a portion of the literature from which most recordings pick and choose a few of the better known examples.
And, no wonder these are often overlooked: they are neither easy to play, nor easy to make sense of. Frank Wallace's abundant technical resources and obvious feel for the almost vocal-like improvisitory riffs lets the listener experience the kind of creative abandon that one would expect from a fantasia, defined in one dictionary as 'A free composition structured according to the composer's fancy. ' On this recording they make perfect sense, and sound like they were being extemporized on the spot.
It is gratifying to have a recording that explores such important, yet rarely heard repertoire.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars] |
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