Arabescos
Quality and Channels Help
Not all Descriptions Cover the Load
It is common knowledge that notes accompanying the presentation of a new recording are intended to encourage you to buy, likely written by a PR specialist. There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s a reviewer’s duty to verify the accuracy of the message. I’ve come across descriptions that did not cover the load. Facts are facts, so there is no issue there, but does Madeira indeed approach this historic repertoire with ‘rare finesse’?
Serious producers, putting a lot of effort into a product as emotionally fragile as music, wouldn’t want to deceive prospective buyers. Bruno Madeira, the guitarist, and Gustavo Cândido, the recording engineer, are in that league. The quality snippets available on Native DSD and my DSD download confirm that we have here a release of exceptional merit in both musical and engineering artistry.
Gustavo Cândido is relatively new to the High-Definition community. Where other labels disappear for commercial survival, his ADS label promises to be one that will keep the niche of highest quality seekers afloat. His previous classical release, Mozart, Brahms: Complete Piano Trios Vol. 1 & Mehmari: Portais Brasileiros No. 5 was an outright winner. This latest one, although of a totally different nature, will surely follow suit. (By the way, his jazz recordings are just as good, but that is someone else’s cup of tea!).
Surpasses Other Plucked Instruments
The acoustic guitar is a wonderful instrument that has made, and still does, millions of people happy at public sing-alongs, small orchestras, and more intimate family gatherings. However, as a classical instrument in the right hands, it becomes an instrument that easily matches or even surpasses any other plucked instrument, like, for instance, the harpsichord or the harp. It has many passionate faces, from singing to weeping, from joy to sadness. And Bruno Madeira’s playing is your proof.
Listening to Madeira’s Bach interpretations, I asked myself, would Johann perhaps have opted for Bruno’s six-string romantic guitar instead of the lute if it had been available at the time? I know, I won’t have any historical purists at my side. But still. For his virtuoso, you should listen to the Grande Overture Op.61, letting his fingers dance graciously over the strings, all five together, so it seems. Sheer wizardry!
Opposing emotions are carefully crafted in the two Bardenklange ‘Unruhe’ and ‘An die Entfernte’’ played with ‘rare finesse’.
I’d not be truthful saying that there are no other guitarists of similar distinction. Still, Bruno Madeira has the advantage of being recorded by Gustavo Cândido, a rare combination, making this release from Dowland to Mertz a safe bet for classical guitarists and all those who appreciate the guitar at its finest.
Normandy, France.Blangy-le-Château, Normandy, France.
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