Customer Reviews

From the Jungles of Paraguay: John Williams Plays Barrios

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One could shower this album with superlatives, and still not quite convey how amazing it is. John Williams always has shown himself preeminent among guitarists in both his techniqual abilities, and the intelligence and musical taste he shows in his interpretations. Even among all the excellent guitarists now before the public, this artist has a special distinction. This recording represents Mr. Williams at the height of his artistic powers, addressing music that can become formidably difficult with both precision and emotion.

As a former guitar teacher who has spent more than 30 years with the instrument, I can say with some confidence that Mr. Williams is simply the best of performers working today with this repertoire. He makes the difficult passages sound easy, infuses meaning and poetry into sections that otherwise would sound naive or pedestrian, and generally makes something special out of each piece.

Andres Segovia once said of Williams that "God has laid a finger on his brow." Listening to this recording, you will see how this is no overstatement. You also will hear the guitar played in a way that you only may have imagined it could be.

John Williams is certainly the best Barrios performer I ever heard in my life. This CD is simply marvelous in any sense you can imagine.

If we examine the technical aspect, John is a perfect player. The notes sound clearly, no matter whether he's playing fast or slow, playing just one string or all the six in a chord that extends over 7 frets.

If we examine by the artistic point of view, John is able to dive deeply in the author's intentions and feelings and bring us up a rich emotional spectrum.

For example: in "Preludio en Sol Menor", John plays Barrios with a strong Bach accent. In fact, Bach has strongly influenced Barrios' compositions, but other performers generally didn't bring this mood to their performances.

In "La Catedral", John performs brilliantly. He plays on the first string so perfectly that we almost hear the notes as harmonics.

In "Sueno en la Floresta", his tremolo transports us to the Jungles of Paraguay, we can almost smell a jungle's atmosphere.

Barrios is one of the most difficult composers to play, and John Williams was able to understand his music and translate it into this splendid CD.

Obviously, it's fantastic - the only question in your mind should be, "Do I get Williams playing Barrios or Russell playing Barrios". I have them both, and I prefer the Williams recording. While Russell plays with good feel, Williams is clearly more the complete master of the instrument, and every ounce of mastery is needed to play Barrios effectively.

I have nothing to add to the superlatives in the existing reviews about Williams' performance. It is really something.

For me the music of Barrios was a revelation. I'm very fond of traditional Paraguayan music, but the country lacks the great cosmopolitan traditions of neighbors like Argentina or Brazil. Barrios seems to have leapt out of this musical backwater and absorbed all kinds of international influences: tango, samba, classical Spanish, and synthesized a musical dialect all his own. He was an original, like Chopin or Scarlatti.

Some of the tunes (like Maxixa) will be familiar even if you don't know the names. All of them are immediately accessible, but bear repeated listening because they are also interestingly structured and textured.

How many rave reviews do you need? - just buy it!

With this disc of the works of the Paraguayan composer, Agustin Barrios-Mangore, John Williams once again proves that he is one of the most technically and musically sophisticated guitarists of his generation. His interpretations of these pieces are very good overall, and his technique, as can be expected, is impeccable. The four star rating I gave this recording is a reflection of my personal taste in interpretaton, rather than any fault of William's. This recording, as good as it may be, only acheives a distant second place rating when compared to David Russel's 1995 recording. In my opinion William's tempi are a little fast and don't reflect the romantic quality Barrios intended with these works. Russel on the other hand is a model of how lyricaly these pieces can be played. If you prefer your romantic music, with a constant sense of forward motion, and accurate rhythym then, by all means, buy this recording, but if you want to hear incredibly romantic phrasing that makes you melt, perfect rubato, and the most beautiful interpretations a guitarist can muster (and I mean BEAUTIFUL!!) then go with the Russel recording.

Imagine that you invite to your home a world-class guitarist who once met a magical Latin-American troubador. Still under the spell of that troubador--born of Indian lineage, classically educated, musically inventive and deeply expressive--the guitarist spins for you an hour of pure enchantment. His strings evoke the troubador's passion, his joy, his sometimes sweet sadness, the aching yearning of a mestizo heart in love with life, accepting heartbreak as life's due.

This disc is an exquisite gem. You may not be able to use it as background music.

As some other reviewers here have noted, John Williams has recorded this music before. I choose to evaluate the two separate recordings much the same way I evaluate pianist Glenn Goulds two recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations- as two different portraits of music created by an artist at two different times in their life. Both versions to me are magnificent, and reflect different aspects of John Williams and his musical perspective.

I love John Williams' recordings of Barrios, above all others that I have heard. I do wish that he would record additional Barrios repertoire, at least if they were pieces that he has affection for. At any rate, Williams is not just a great guitarist but at his best a great artist.

As some other reviewers here have noted, John Williams has recorded this music before. I choose to evaluate the two separate recordings much the same way I evaluate pianist Glenn Goulds two recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations- as two different portraits of music created by an artist at two different times in their life. Both versions to me are magnificent, and reflect different aspects of John Williams and his musical perspective.

I love John Williams' recordings of Barrios, above all others that I have heard. I do wish that he would record additional Barrios repertoire, at least if they were pieces that he has affection for. At any rate, Williams is not just a great guitarist but at his best a great artist.

Mr. Williams gives a definitive performance of Agustin Barrios music. One of the most impressive things about listening to Mr. Williams playing is that he has an affinity for bringing out the composers intention and not shaping the music to his will. It has been stated that Mr. Williams interprations of Barrios music is played to fast. To this I would say that Barrios himself played these same pieces at a very fast tempo and with allot of spontaneity. Proving that this was the composer,s intention.

If you love Barrios's music!You will love "Jungle of Paraguay" by j.williams.It's the best Barrios's recording.