behold virtuosity

For the regular readers here, You probably noticed that I deleted my recent posts about "the state of rock & roll". I just didn't feel aimless ramblings were up to the standards that we try to keep around here so I used the delete button a few times and I feel better now.

I have been listening lately to a CD that used to belong to my dad called "Andres Segovia My Favorite Works". It is a compliation of songs he performed and recorded and peresonally assisted in the selection of for this CD. According to the liner notes, he selected the songs in the final year of his life.

The music on the CD is from Spanish Composers and it is obvious it was all composed or specifically arranged for guitar.

There are several striking things about these recordings. One is that Andres Segovia is an absolute master and I have never heard anyone to equal his skill level as a guitar player. None.
Of course this isn't a huge revlelation since he is the most well known classical guitar player of our time. These songs are not just 2 or 3 minutes and the playing is so clean and clear it is simply amazing. No mistakes whatsover and I don't think it is because of editing. Another thing is how well he seems to "feel" the music and his use of dynamics. A third thing that is amazing is that as you listen to the music, you can forget you are listening to a guitar player and start to hear the story he is telling. The songs he chose to perform shows his excellent taste in music and a beautiful appreciation for art.

He was able to make very difficult feats of guitar artistry seem effortless and it never sounds like he is showing off even one iota. He is the only guitar player who I have ever heard who used harmonics and it didn't sound the least bit contrived or put in just to show that he knew how to do it.

The CD says "MCA Classics" at the top and the title is "Andreas Segovia My Favorite Works". I don't know if it is still being distributed but I imagine that it is.

Again, Everybody knows who Andreas Segovia was but he still I was am just blown away by how good he was. My dad always liked both Andreas Segovia and Carlos Montoya. Montoya is know for being a great, if not the greatest, Flamenco guitar player in the world. There are some who list other flamenco guitar players but Carlos Montoya is easily the most well known. I have agree that my dad had excellent taste in guitar music and I know he spent hours listening to both of these guys.

In our next lesson we will cover Watermelon. Is it a fruit or a vegitable?

Please do your homework, get plenty of sleep, shave the back your neck, and wash behind your ears. Also, be nice to animals. Everybody knows that besides just being unkind, a person who is mean to animals is just a pure creep. I know that some of you take pride in your creepyness but there is no reason to be cruel just for the sake of cruelty. Enough of that already.

That's it. Lights out. I don't want to hear a peep.