by Apex » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:58 am
Wow, reminds me of the good ol' days of my classical guitar studies back in the 70's & 80's. Thanks for this post. Mesnier exhibits excellent technique and plays well.
For more classical guitar stuff, check out Manuel Barrueco, practically the best on the planet. I saw him perform in November 1991 from a 1st row seat, just so good.
And John William's CD's 'El Diablo Suelto' and 'Spirit of the Americas'. For a more jazzy tilt, Marco Pereira. With classical guitar, you really can't go wrong on any selections.
When Manuel Barrueco came to the U.S. from Cuba, the late Professor of the Guitar Dept at the University of Miami, Juan Mercadal, told him, "I can't do anything for you,
you need to go to New York and see what develops there." For the late, great master and pedagogue Mercadal to say that meant that Barrueco already knew it all, which was
pretty much the case, and therefore studying with Mercadal would just take time better spent elsewhere. The rest is recording history. Barrueco has recorded some of the
best and most difficult classical guitar music. His 'Bach & DeVisee' CD is exemplary in scope and deserves a real 5 star plug here, as all the rest of his recordings do.
There are different schools of classical guitar thought and technique. I followed the "School of Mercadal", as my instructor and my ensemble director were both students of
Juan's back in the day. I personally owe much to Juan, whom I met many times, and those two students for showing me the Way to Musical Knowledge. Mercadal's primary
teaching method for intermediate and even advanced students was the 6 book series of the Julio Sagreras studies, composed in the 1930's by Sagreras, an Argentine guitarist
and pedagodue, and, in my learned opinion and experience, the key to playing Latin American guitar music. The differences in schools of thought come into play due to certain classical guitarists, whose names I know but cannot mention, have come into their own opinion that the Sagreras studies do not teach technique. My Italian grandfather would have a word for
that bunch. So would I. If you can play all 6 books, and by the time you get to Book Six it gets very technically difficult, you can really play. Period.
So get out there and support the classical guitar community - buy a bunch of classical guitar CD's and treat yourself to a world of great guitar music.