good package dealby 1wolffan

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July 18, 2009: Two long CDs (roughly 75 minutes each) of excellent music for under $20...

Works for me.

HIGH POLISHED CONCEPT AND MODESTSOUND LEVEL EDITINGby Anonymous

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April 06, 2008: Curious thing: nowhere on the sleeve note there is mentioned who is the author of compilation, i. e. apsolutely the most important person here (or more of them) who told us that beautiful guitar adagio story. Whoever has done it, he or she did it with enormously great musical taste and 'cyclic' feeling: numbers are following each other almost organicly, as been originally expected to support one another (!). Congratulations for an excellent 'meal' compost of 'ingredients' taken from Decca guitar recording 'kitchen'. Ideal not only for intimate dinner with candles, but also for a serious listeners who always care obout long 'bow' perception and kinda inner dramaturgy (of compilation), even with glass of wine for late evening meditation, or in working pose with some music background . First class job. The performances are on a very high professional and artistic level, from good (Dominic Miler, Steve Erquiaga, Eduardo Fernandez), over better (Göran Söllscher, Pepe Romero, Celin & Pepe Romero, Alexander Lagoya) to excellent (Segovia, Bream, young Williams) and quite outstanding (Presti& Lagoya). The fact that Dominic Miler and Steve Erquiaga both play on a metal string acoustics (which I would never listen alone) goes for a benefit of overall sounding spectrum, as well as some orchestra's appereances do (in 10 of the including takes). Perhaps the only doubt rests upon 'Recuerdos de la Alhambra'. Should be better if that fabulous song (yes, song, a metaphor even!) plays somebody more skilfull in tremolo cantillena wizzardy then Fernandez (whose a, m, i right hand fingering is slightly 'grouping', somewhat 'knotty'and unpersuasive...). Otherwise, Fernandez is a very fine and imaginative guitarist indeed.) Although guitar itself has a pretty rich original literature for such occasions (rich only for such occasions), the majority of numbers are transcriptions – 26 of totaly 37 of them. It, of course, widely extends musical horizon and diabolicly confirms traditional gutaristic sensibility (gitarists always prefer to interfere in other instruments' field, rather then in their own). Some of the arrangements give even a certain 'fusion' flavour, an important 'aroma' for modern audience's taste. The recordings are of various sounding quality and have been made from 1961 to 1995. Mostly, the younger the better, but there are some impressive olds, like Segovia's in Boccherini Cello Concerto (1961) and a the whole 6 cuts set of Ida Presti & Alexander Lagoya (1961 and 1962). The worst sounding are 5 cuts of 17 years old John Williams (1972) – mics directed to a deep timbar of guitar-top, too close, dry, 'fat' and spaceless. Second worst is pure and boxy sound in Villa-Lobos Prelude, the only take with Julian Bream (1966) who, as it is known, didn't find his relevant and recognizable discographic sound anywhere outside of the RCA company. All in all, global sound is generally OK and pleasant for listening, having in mind that it is the least what one might expect from Decca. The only strong critical complain deserves technical production of the project. Some cuts are 'loud', some are 'silent' Miler's and Erquiaga's, for example, are certain shocks of digital agression. Nobody edited (?) output levels of recorded material according to subjective and objective dynamics and made it suitable to, let's say, integrated 'stage' of compilation in listener's enviroment. This is the case...