Product Details

• Actors: Julian Bream
• Directors: Barrie Gavin
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: November 28, 2000
• Run Time: 240 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004ZEQH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,821 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Julian Bream is celebrated as one of the world's leading classical guitarists. He is featured in this series of eight 30-minute films, shot entirely on location in Spain, playing some of the finest pieces in the repertoire of the Spanish guitar. The program traces the evolution of the Spanish guitar over five centuries, from 1500 to the present day. Together, its music and history paint a rich portrait of Spain and her people. Bream plays in some of Spain's most magnificent old buildings and beautiful landscapes, creating through his performances a visual evocation of the culture, history and society that has given birth to the music. Seville, Toledo, Madrid, Barcelona and the Pyrenees -these and other locations form a vivid backdrop to his playing. Each program travels between Spain's past and present and includes a wealth of historical documentation -paintings, manuscripts, biographical sketches of composers, period instruments -as well as film of life in Spain today.For this series, Julian Bream asked the outstanding Spanish guitar maker, his long standing friend and colleague Jose Romanillos to make him a vihuela and a Baroque Spanish guitar and for the first time, he performs publicly on these instruments. In episode 4, he is joined by another master performer, Paco Peña, who plays Flamenco guitar and talks with Bream about its origins and meaning.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, December 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Guitarra! A Musical Journey Through Spain [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Definitely the best classical guitar video produced so far. Julian Bream is the best guitarist. No one produces tones and sound-colors like he does. The film makers of this video did an awesome job as well (the only annoying thing they did during this video was venture through the streets of Spain while the master played Sor's Grand Solo. What the [explitive deleted]were they thinking?) Bream blows the viewers mind as he performs Aguados Rondo in A minor (one of the hardest guitar pieces to perform.) He plays only Spanish compositions in this tape with lots of Albaniz and Granados. The combination of Breams superior technical ability and the film maker's tasteful footage continue to give me chill bumps everytime I watch it. Bream stopped touring. But for anyone wanting to get glimpse of the best performer of our time, this tape is it!!!

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Collector's Treasure, August 25, 2004

By 

BLee "bpslee" (HK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitarra! A Musical Journey Through Spain (DVD)

If you're a classical guitar music lover, you'll love it. If you're a music lover, or even a lover of art, you don't want to miss it.

Here we have an interesting history ( and the sad fate ) of the guitar, not only as told by Julian but also as observed by other renowned literary figures. It further takes us to a guitar manufacturer, showing us how some of the local Spanish guitarists would now play the instrument ( not just for flemingo music). It is doing so by giving us, in a subtle way, the full context of the relevant Spainish history and the development of art in the country...


Unlike J Williams' "The Seville Concert" where we have depictions after depictions of the monotonously static soloist, here we only have 1/3 of the time portraying the guitarist with the remaining 2/3 giving us the highlights of where the music was composed or first performed in Spain, and how their living was like, say, as depiected by Goya, the oil painter. Occasionally we even have interesting comparisons between the local modern living people with those appearing in the paintings!


Yes, I have seen "The Seville Concert" by Johan Williams filmed at Alcazar Palace; I have also seen "The Romantic Guitar" by E Fernandez accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra. Each one of them runs about an hour. But either as a music lover or as a classical guitar music lover (as a fan of Segovia), I couldn't finish either one of them in one go despite the fact that their production was done with the most modern equipment of the 90's. Yet, despite the fact that this DVD is 10 or 15 years older than the other two, one can easily finish this 3 hrs film in a breath offering him with the most intriguing music. Why? Far better production: better music, plus better photography, and with no less fabulous accoustics. A treasure indeed. And I recommend viewers to watch this DVD alongside with " Shadow & Light" featuring J Rodrigo the composer who wrote Concerto De Aranjuez (where Pepe Romero appeared).

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GUITAR ADVENTURE, October 2, 2002

By 

"pisces1950" (Juncos, PR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitarra! A Musical Journey Through Spain (DVD)

Julian Bream is probably one of the best guitarists to come out of the 20th century. He proves it in this DVD which should be in every aspiring concert guitarist's music collection as a model on technique, color and style. Maestro Bream is a true genius on interpretation and sensitivity to the instrument. He also treats us to playing the vihuela, and gives us a brief history of the instrument with breathtaking scenes from the Spanish countryside in the background. If you've never had the privilege of hearing Bream perform in public, then please purchase this DVD as it is a pure treasure, and one that you will view over and over again.