The Art of Guitar

Johann Sebastian Bach (Artist), Andres Segovia (Artist), John Williams (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Madacy Records
• ASIN: B000000L1T
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,181 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Partita for solo violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006: Gavotte on rondeau

2. Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004: Chaconne

3. Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: Gavottes I & II

4. Suite for lute in E minor, BWV 996 (BC L166): Sarabande

5. Suite for lute in E minor, BWV 996 (BC L166): Bourree

6. Prelude for lute in C minor, BWV 999 (BC L171)

7. Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: Courante

8. Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: Prelude

9. Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: Allemande

10. Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: Courante

11. Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: Sarabande

12. Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: Minuetto I & II

13. Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: Gigue

14. Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: Prelude

15. Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: Allemande

16. Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: Courante

17. Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: Sarabande

18. Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: Bourree I & II

19. Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: Gigue

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do NOT buy this CD, June 11, 2005

By 

M. Yarus "yardos" (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Guitar (Audio CD)

This CD is a cruel joke on all who know and venerate Segovia's playing and contribution to the guitar. Were there a zero star rating, I would use it. The sound of the Segovia Bach is grotesquely bad, less clear than, say, a hand-held dictation recorder. The Williams pieces, in apparent sympathy, are almost as bad, though there is no apparent reason that we couldn't have better clarity from more modern recordings. I am neither kidding nor being malicious: for example, the overloading on crescendi is so bad that it is painful to hear. If you want to understand Segovia's impact on classical music, save the 7 bucks that you would have spent for this CD and get the Deutsche Grammaphon "Art of Segovia" instead.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Segovia and Williams: pure guitar emotions!, December 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Guitar (Audio CD)

This is a great cd of Bach's pieces renditions by the legendary Andres Segovia and the great John Williams. The quality of recordings for Segovia is not high (old recordings)anyway you can listen to his enchanting playin! "Chaconne" played on classical guitar by the Maestro is a marvellous experience!
John William's sound is good and in this case is fantastic to listen to his renditions of Bach: awesome technique, absolute precision and of course amazin style.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep emotion sometimes lacking in other classical music., July 24, 2003

By 

"websnozz" (Marianna, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Guitar (Audio CD)

The Art of Guitar is an album of classical pieces composed by Bach and performed by Andres Segovia. Many of the pieces were originally composed for the lute, and Segovia has adapted them to the classical guitar. Some musicians prefer the classical style as purely a means to display their playing prowess. Although Segovia demonstrates his exceptional technical skill, it is truly the spirit he injects into the music he plays that makes him a legend. The second track, Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor arranged for guitar, is a good example of music that conveys deep emotion without a single word. This one piece is twelve minutes, and along its journey many different musical ideas and emotions are explored and expressed. Even as the piece progresses it should be noted that there is a musical phrase that is often returned to and repeated, however it is done in great variation, but the same concept is maintained. A note or chord is played short and accented, and then the following note or chord is much longer, sometimes with a vibrato, and is a pitch descending in approximately a whole step or half step interval. The musical idea created by this emphasized descending interval is one of bittersweet sorrow, but because of the simplicity in the implementation of this phrase, Bach is able to communicate other musical ideas along side the basic one. In this Segovia demonstrates his mastery of the guitar by his ability to clearly define voices. The bass line, melody, and chord progression all have distinguishable separation among each other, despite the fact that they must all be expressed through a single sound hole by a single performer all at once. This is something that is rarely, if ever, accomplished by a player of mainstream popular guitar who, in the absence of the skill required, frequently opt to divide these three elements among three different musicians. One could say that Segovia contains the technical skill of three guitarist combined, and perhaps the same could be said for the amount of emotion and creativity that he expresses in what he plays.