It's hard to get
excited about rehashed compilations of Segovia's
old Decca recordings. I own a slew of "digitally
remastered" CDs from the 80s and 90s and they
are terrible: thin, harsh, flat and
unlistenable. Sadly, since the advent of the digital audio,
the glory of Segovia's playing has been lost to an
entire generation. The sonic magic of Segovia's
Decca LPs, many of which I still own and play,
was lost in the translation to digital. It's a pity as
Segovia is a pivotal figure in the
history of the guitar. I can't count the times
my guitar students have remarked how
disappointed they were over Segovia's playing
after listening to an ill-conceived
digitalization. "Sounds like it was recorded in
a phone booth." He didn't change his strings too
often did he?" "Modern players are better
aren't they?"And so forth. However, Deutsche
Grammophon's 4 disk boxed set, "The Segovia
Collection," has blown most of that yonder.
What makes
this Segovia compilation any different? First,
since the 1980s there have been leaps in
digitalization technology and remastering
techniques. Earlier attempts suffered from
bright EQ, excessive static and a flat sound
stage. This collection was remastered from the
original tapes at 96 kHz/24 bit, resulting in
more detail than the older 44.1 kHz/16 bit
standard of early digital recorders. And,
finally, they've learned how to properly EQ a
classical guitar! As a result most of these
recordings simmer and breathe, once again
capturing the magic of Segovia's guitar. The
older mono remixes are a bit rough, but we are
dealing with master tapes that predate the
changeover to stereo recording during the 1950s.
Of course none of these tracks can claim the
same fidelity as modern digital recordings of
Pepe Romero or Christopher Parkening.
Segovia didn't
believe in editing finger noise out, unlike
younger players whom go to great lengths to
digitally excise them. Squeakless guitar
recordings often make me I feel like I'm
listening to an organ with a "guitar stop." It's
not that I like squeaks. We do our best to
minimalize them but they're an irrevocable part
of the guitar's sound. These
Segovia recordings are honest, natural and full
bodied, and you always know you're listening to
a guitar played by a human being. Most significantly, they are musically engaging enough that a little tape hiss or finger
squeak is inconsequential.
So do these CDs
sound better than the original Decca LPs?
Generally, they do not but are close. For
example, I have an original (mint!) LP issue of
"Segovia: Ponce, Concieto del Sur •
Rodrigo, Fantasia para una Gentilhombre (Decca
DL 10 027) and it has more sweetness,
air and detail than the CD. Of course that LP
was cut when the master tape was still fresh
over 50 years ago! The remastered Decca
recordings from the 1960s sound best while older
efforts are somewhat thin. Nevertheless, these
recordings are better than any remastered
Segovia CD I've heard.
If you've been
buying Segovia's remastered CDs, you probably
have most of these recordings, although there
are a few tracks not heard since the days of
vinyl. Disk 1 contains:
Rodrigo, Fantasía Para Un
Gentilhombre For Guitar And Orchestra •
Ponce, Concierto Del Sur • Boccherini,
Concerto No.6 For Violoncello And Orchestra
in D Major
The remix of these concerti
surprised me the most of all the disks. The
orchestra is vivid, full and spacious
compared to earlier digitalizations.
Disk 2 contains some of Segovia's heavier and
rather romantic repertoire:
Torroba, Castillos De España
• Torroba, Piezas Características
• Mompou, Suite Compostelana •
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Sonata Omaggio A
Boccherini Op. 77 • Ponce, Allegro In A
Major • Esplá, Antaño:
Estampa After A Traditional Children's Song
• Rodrigo, Fandango No.1 From 'Tres
Piezas Españolas' - Allegretto
Castillos De España
is among Segovia's best performances in this
collection. Moreover the audio quality and
engineering is probably the best as well.
Disk 3 reveals
Segovia's lighter side, featuring student pieces
and nationalistic Spanish repertoire:
De Murcia, Praelidium & Allegro
• Roncalli, Passacaglia & Capprici
Armonici Sopra La Chitarra Spagnola •
Milan, 6 Panvans • Aguado, Eight Lessons
For The Guitar • Sor, Minuets in C minor
& C Major • Sor, 9 Études
• Granados, Andaluza - Danza
Española Op.37 No.5 & Danza Triste
- Danza Española Op.37 No.10 & La
Maja De Goya No.1 - From Tonadillas
Sonically this disk is uneven: some tracks
have a little too much hiss (De Murcia), some
tracks are a little dull (Aguado) while others
have too much reverb (Sor, Minuets). Of course
these tracks were gathered from diverse sources
and eras in his life, so some unevenness is par
for the course.
Finally, Disk 4
features the works of J.S. Bach:
Allemande - From Suite For Lute In E
Minor, BWV 996 • Sarabande - From
Partita For Lute In C Minor, BWV 997 •
Gigue - From Partita For Lute In C Minor, BWV
997 • Sarabande - From Partita For
Violin Solo No.1 In B Minor, BWV 1 •
Bourrée - From Partita For Violin Solo
No.1 In B Minor, BWV 100 • Double - From
Partita For Violin Solo No.1 In B Minor, BWV
1002 • Suite For Violoncello Solo No.3
In C Major - Prélude, BWV 1009 •
Suite For Violoncello Solo No.3 In C Major -
Allemande, BWV 100 • Suite For
Violoncello Solo No.3 In C Major - Courante,
BWV 1009 • Suite For Violoncello Solo
No.3 In C Major - Sarabande, BWV 100 •
Suite For Violoncello Solo No.3 In C Major -
Bourrées I & II, B • Suite
For Violoncello Solo No.3 In C Major - Gigue,
BWV 1009 • Prélude - Suite For
Violoncello Solo No.1 In G Major, BWV 1007
• Gavotte I & II - Suite For
Violoncello Solo No.6 In D Major, BW •
Chaconne - Partita For Violin Solo No.2 In D
Minor, BWV 1004 • Prelude For The Lute
In C Minor, BWV 999 • Gavotte En Rondeau
- Partita For Violin Solo No.3 In E Major, B
• Fugue For Lute In G Minor, BWV 1000
• Siciliano - Sonata For Violin Solo
No.1 In G Minor, BWV 1001 •
Bourrée - Suite For Lute In E Minor,
BWV 996
Unlike many
modern players, Segovia preferred to cherry pick
Bach movements from diverse suites and partitas.
And, yes, his interpretation is romantic,
teaming with tenuto, ritardando, rubatos and
other devices of the late 19th century. I find
this interpretation, although not authentic, is
certainly epic, intense and telling of Segovia's
personality.
Finally, The
Segovia Collection is obviously a work of love
by someone at Deutsche Grammophon. Besides going
the extra mile in digitalization and
remastering, the graphic design, packaging and
program notes demonstrate care and attention
to detail rarely seen. The outer box is the
color of a spruce sound board and sports
lasercut strings across an open sound hole. When
you remove the CDs, Segovia's signature is
visible through the sound hole! They enlisted
the able pens of Graham Wade and John
Lehmann-Hart to write extensive background
notes, and filled the glossy pages with
historical photographs of the maestro, surrounding culture and friends.
The Segovia
Collection is the best sounding compilation of
old Decca recordings I have heard. It's also an
excellent cross-section of Segovia's work,
offering younger generations a delicious glimpse
into the work of a master long passed. This is a
collection every classical guitar aficionado and
student should own. Highly
recommended.
Please support this site by purchasing this CD from Amazon.
12/3/2005
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