Golden Age Of The Guitar / Various Golden Age Of The Guitar / Various CD

One of the world's foremost experts on the 10-string guitar, Pascal Boels offers us a cross-section of the finest music for his instrument from around Europe in the Renaissance and the Baroque. He identifies this as the guitar's 'golden age' - rather than the later proliferation of guitar music in pre-Romantic Europe, from Spain and Italy through Paris, London and Vienna, even as far as Moscow - because in the 16th and 17th centuries, the guitar and it's plucked-string ancestors reigned supreme, whereas the later guitar music, although often of great quality, could not compete with the genius poured by the great composers of the day into the fortepiano. Renaissance Spain in particular was a bastion of the art, where the 12-string vihuela inspired an immense corpus of great quality, often enhanced with the mystical qualities of plainchant. The musical range on Disc Two of this set is quite comprehensive: court music, fantasies, variations or glosses on secular melodies (Josquin des Prez's Mille regretz for example) and liturgical music. As the piano did in the 19th century, the vihuela in the Renaissance served as a platform for reductions of works for larger forces, making the great polyphonic music of the time more readily accessible to the masses and to individual players. The artist devotes Disc One to lands further north, where the guitar was often overshadowed by the lute, especially in England and Germany. Yet a portrait of this age in Europe would not be complete without the lute players Dowland (early Baroque) and Weiss (late Baroque) whose music is a perfect match for Boels' instrument. This very personal selection is a small but evocative sample of a vast yet paradoxically little-known repertoire, that nevertheless goes a long way to helping the classical guitar further stand the test of time.

1. Ludovico Roncalli: Sonata No. 2, Quarto Tono in E Minor: I. Preludio 2. Ludovico Roncalli: Sonata No. 2, Quarto Tono in E Minor: II. Alemanda 3. Ludovico Roncalli: Sonata No. 2, Quarto Tono in E Minor: III. Giga 4. Ludovico Roncalli: Sonata No. 2, Quarto Tono in E Minor: IV. Sarabanda 5. Ludovico Roncalli: Sonata No. 2, Quarto Tono in E Minor: V. Gavotta 6. Ludovico Roncalli: Sonata No. 2, Quarto Tono in E Minor: VI. Passacaglia 7. John Dowland: Lachrimae Pavan, P15 8. John Dowland: A Fancy, P73 9. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in G Major: I. Pr?lude 10. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in G Major: II. Allemande 11. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in G Major: III. Courante 12. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in G Major: IV. Sarabande 13. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in G Major: V. Gigue 14. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in G Major: VI. Chaconne 15. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: I. Pr?lude 16. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: II. Allemande 17. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: III. Courante 18. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: IV. Sarabande I 19. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: V. Sarabande II 20. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: VI. Gigue 21. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: VII. Menuets I ; II 22. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: VIII. Bourr?e 23. Robert de Vis?e: Suite in D Minor: IX. Passacaille 24. Silvius Leopold Weiss: Fantasie in C Minor, Weisssw9 25. Jan Anton?n Losy: Partita in a Minor: I. Aria 26. Jan Anton?n Losy: Partita in a Minor: II. Allemande 27. Jan Anton?n Losy: Partita in a Minor: III. Capriccio 28. Jan Anton?n Losy: Partita in a Minor: IV. Sarabande 29. Jan Anton?n Losy: Partita in a Minor: V. Gavotte 30. Jan Anton?n Losy: Partita in a Minor: VI. Gigue 31. Luis de Narvßez: Mille Regres la Canci?n Del Rmperador, Del Quarto Tono, de Jusquin 32. Luis de Milßn: Fantasia VIII Del Quarto Tono 33. Alonso Mudarra: Fantasia VII 34. Alonso Mudarra: Fantasia X, Que Contrahaze la Harpa en la Manera de Ludovico 35. Alonso Mudarra: Kyrie Primero, de la Missa de Beata Virgine de Josquin Glosado, Primer Tono 36. Luis de Narvßez: 6 Diferencias Sobre O Gloriosa Domina, Primer Tono: I. Diferencia I 37. Luis de Narvßez: 6 Diferencias Sobre O Gloriosa Domina, Primer Tono: II. Diferencia II, de Dos Tiples Sobre El Tenor 38. Luis de Narvßez: 6 Diferencias Sobre O Gloriosa Domina, Primer Tono: III. Diferencia III, a Duo 39. Luis de Narvßez: 6 Diferencias Sobre O Gloriosa Domina, Primer Tono: IV. Diferencia IV, de Proporci?n 40. Luis de Narvßez: 6 Diferencias Sobre O Gloriosa Domina, Primer Tono: V. Diferencia V, El Canto Llano Por Tiple 41. Luis de Narvßez: 6 Diferencias Sobre O Gloriosa Domina, Primer Tono: VI. Dupla, Diferencia VI, El Canto Llano Por Tiple 42. Enr?quez de Valderrßbano: 4 Diferencias Sobre la Pavana Por Grados 43. Gaspar Sanz: Instrucci?n de M·sica Sobre la Guitarra Espa±ola, Libro II: XVIII. Marizßpalos 44. Gaspar Sanz: Instrucci?n de M·sica Sobre la Guitarra Espa±ola, Libro I: XLVII. Fuga I, Por Primer Tono, Al Ayre Espa±ol 45. Gaspar Sanz: Instrucci?n de M·sica Sobre la Guitarra Espa±ola, Libro II: IV. Folias 46. Gaspar Sanz: Instrucci?n de M·sica Sobre la Guitarra Espa±ola, Libro II: XXII. Pavanas Por la D 47. Gaspar Sanz: Instrucci?n de M·sica Sobre la Guitarra Espa±ola, Libro I: XXXIII. Passacalles Sobre la D