Classical Guitar July 2004

ALBÉNIZ - IBERIA
Trio Campanella
Naxos 8.557064 CD

Even in these days of information superhighways and cyberspace libraries, to claim any transcription as a genuine first remains more perilous than crossing a minefield on a pogo stick. In the case of a work written nearly a century ago and already well known to guitarists, I'm prepared to do nothing more than quote Jonathan Irons' notes to the present recording: 'For almost a hundred years the Suite Iberia had never been arranged for guitar in its entirety. In 1995 Christophe Dejour transcribed the entire work for three guitars and the Trio Campanella gave the first performance of the work in 1998 in Copenhagen'.
Unprecedented or not, this subtle yet colourful account of what is generally regarded as its creator's masterpiece is a release worthy of note. Its success is due in no small part to the quietly virtuosic performance by this Danish-based ensemble, comprising Dejour in the company of Frank Massa and Thomas Winthereik. Credit must also go to the engineering skills of Viggo Mangor, an erstwhile performer on the early music scene who seems to be donning the cans with increasing regularity of late.
The music needs no introduction, such movements as El Puerto and the Evocacion being long established as guitar repertoire items, albeit for duo rather than trio. Elsewhere, it's more of the same, the language best described as essentially similar to that of Leyenda and Sevilla but with a hefty dose of additional refinement and development. This said, no individual movement is overly expansive, the penultimate Jerez being the only one to nudge the ten-minute barrier. And despite a total running time of 77'25", the elegant overall structure shows no signs of sagging in the middle. A major Hispanic offering, delivered with conviction.

Paul Fowles

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