Review

Cuban composer Leo Brouwer (b.1939) is an astonishing sound creator in this new release featuring music for bandurria and guitar. Brower’s masterful use of music of divergent musical styles like Cuban rhythms, changing metres, contemporary new music atonal references, simple folk music and South American references from other composers are, when combined and layered, surprisingly atheistically pleasing and challenging, yet never jolting.

Performers Pedro Mateo González on guitar and Pedro Chamorro on bandurria (a popular South American small lute dating from the 16th century) are stars both as soloists and as a duo. There is so much respect for the composer in their spirited performances. González is especially outstanding in capturing both the soul-wrenching slow lyricism in Variation 3, and the toe-tapping energetic and contrasting slower emotions in Variation 7 of Variaciones sobre un tema de Víctor Jara, a work drawn from Chilean musician/activist Victor Jara’s popular song Lo unico que tengo. Likewise, Chamorro easily conquers the fiery rapid lines and contrasting rhythms in both his solo performances which include a world premiere recording of Sonata para Bandurria. The 1957 duet Micropiezas para Bandurria y Guitarra is dedicated to Darius Milhaud. A theme and variation of the French children’s song Frère Jacques, Brouwer creates an unmatched spellbinding piece for the two musicians to shine in subtlety and simplicity.

Kudos too to the fine, clear work of the producers, Canadians Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver. This is beautiful music played beautifully.