Franco: Music for Guitar

Franco: Music for Guitar
Composer Alfredo Franco
Artist Cristiano Porqueddu guitar
Format 3 CD
Cat. number 96481
EAN code 5028421964812
Release May 2024

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About this release

Born in Torino in 1967, Alfredo Franco was involved in non-classical music in his youth before taking up the classical guitar. He then undertook advanced studies in the historical and critical fields in the Department for Art, Music and Theatre of the University of Turin. He would later abandon concert activity as a performer and focus instead on composition. His now prolific classical guitar output has been well received by important interpreters such as Cristiano Porqueddu and increasingly programmed on the stage and in the studio.

This triple-disc set constitutes a broad cross-section of Franco’s solo guitar music. Porqueddu has offered brief comments on some of the many, varied compositions that will be new to many listeners. A Bleached September Sky: multiple short episodes evoking sudden premonitions. A Night’s Tale features a rapid, edgy central section set between a dreamlike beginning and end. Alphabetical Portraits conceptually depicts seven composers by associating the letters in their surnames with notes of the chromatic scale. Inezie deliziose is a collection of miniature album leaves heralding the frivolity of an imaginary past. Fantasia No.7 contrapuntally pays homage to Renaissance vihuelists. Il flauto nel bosco – Omaggio a Grazia Deledda: a sonatina based on the Nobel Prize-winning Sardinian author’s renowned collection of short stories. La regina delle tenebre – Su un racconto di Grazia Deledda is inspired by an eponymous short story, again by the Sardinian author. La guitarra callada – Homage to Frederic Mompou seeks to convey the Catalan composer’s atmospheres. Quaderno di aprile is a minimalist diary, composed almost compulsively along a few days in April. Mirando un cuadro de Goya is one possible interpretation of the painter’s Pavo muerto. Microsuite is designed to provide an introduction to contemporary musical languages. Petite Suite mécanique honours three guitarists from different eras: Robert de Visée, Miguel Llobet and Leo Brouwer. Sette aforismi: short, sparse studies on timbre and colour. Sonatina autunnale sits somewhere between Manuel Ponce and Alfredo Casella. Sonatina estiva pays tribute to Carlo Carrà and his paintings of seaside shacks. Tarreghiana: a theme and variations based on Tárrega’s famous Prelude in A minor. Wintergarten is a farewell stroll in a Schumannesque winter garden, evoking chorales and with variations.

- Alfredo Franco was born in 1967 in Torino, Italy. After studying the guitar he abandoned a solo career and devoted himself to composition. He rapidly became one of the foremost and innovating guitar composers of his time. His works are published by prestigious publishing houses and his music is performed by notable performers worldwide.
- His music is highly original, influenced by jazz, folk and minimal music, picturesque, appealing and expertly written for his instrument, evoking wonderful sounds and timbres.
- Played with affection and understanding by Cristiano Porqueddu, one of today’s foremost guitarists and a close friend of the composer. Critics call him “A reference point for a new generation of musicians”. His Carnegie Hall recital was a triumph: “he has the vision and fortitude to forge a new and substantial path by discovering, recording and performing great works that have been largely ignored” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle). His Brilliant Classics discography is substantial and impressive and includes works by Barrios, Sor, Gilardino, and many others.

Listening

Track list

Disk 1

  1. Alfredo Franco: A Bleached September Sky
  2. Alfredo Franco: A Night’s Tale
  3. Alfredo Franco: A Short Elegy
  4. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: I. Sibelius
  5. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: II. Britten
  6. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: III. Shostakovich
  7. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: IV. Mompou
  8. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: V. Mosso
  9. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: VI. Casella
  10. Alfredo Franco: Alphabetical Portraits: VII. Martin
  11. Alfredo Franco: Memories from the Black Lodge
  12. Alfredo Franco: Fantasia No. 6
  13. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: I. Adagio
  14. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: II. Petite valse oubliée
  15. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: III. Adagietto
  16. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: IV. Adagietto vaporoso
  17. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: V. Adagietto
  18. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: VI. Petite valse oubliée
  19. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: VII. Adagio
  20. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: VIII. Adagissimo
  21. Alfredo Franco: Inezie deliziose: IX. Adagio elegiaco
  22. Alfredo Franco: Fantasia No. 7
  23. Alfredo Franco: Il flauto nel bosco (Omaggio a Grazia Deledda)

Disk 2

  1. Alfredo Franco: Impermanence – Tombeau for Charlie Watts
  2. Alfredo Franco: La regina delle tenebre (Su un racconto di Grazia Deledda)
  3. Alfredo Franco: La guitarra callada
  4. Alfredo Franco: Quaderno di aprile
  5. Alfredo Franco: Mirando un cuadro de Goya
  6. Alfredo Franco: Isolation
  7. Alfredo Franco: Microsuite
  8. Alfredo Franco: Petite suite mécanique
  9. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: I. Adagio
  10. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: II. Allegretto con spirito
  11. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: III. Cantabile
  12. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: IV. Adagio
  13. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: V. Un po’ grottesco
  14. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: VI. Alla rimembranza
  15. Alfredo Franco: 7 Preludes: VII. Vivo

Disk 3

  1. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: I. Disteso
  2. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: II. Leggero
  3. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: III. Etereo
  4. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: IV. Lento
  5. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: V. Leggero
  6. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: VI. Etereo
  7. Alfredo Franco: Sette aforismi: VII. Disteso
  8. Alfredo Franco: Sonatina autunnale: I. Andantino
  9. Alfredo Franco: Sonatina autunnale: II. Larghetto
  10. Alfredo Franco: Sonatina autunnale: III. Allegretto
  11. Alfredo Franco: Sonatina estiva: I. Allegretto leggero
  12. Alfredo Franco: Sonatina estiva: II. Barcarola
  13. Alfredo Franco: Sonatina estiva: III. Allegretto
  14. Alfredo Franco: Tarreghiana
  15. Alfredo Franco: Elegia
  16. Alfredo Franco: Novembrina – The Anatomy of Melancholy
  17. Alfredo Franco: Trittico del verso agro: I. Satura
  18. Alfredo Franco: Trittico del verso agro: II. Recuerdos de recuerdos
  19. Alfredo Franco: Trittico del verso agro: III. Yeux
  20. Alfredo Franco: Wintergarten