Wednesday 19 June 2019

Classical guitarist Richard Bowen made a welcome return to St Nicolas for a concert of Latin-American guitar music. In his fascinating links he noted that the guitar had continued in popularity in Latin-America even when keyboards of various types had overtaken the instrument elsewhere. Moreover, their approach to composition and performance remained intimate and sensitive where the rest of the world became very more brash and loud.

His choice of pieces eminently reflected this, opening with Josa Cardosa’s Milonga with its gently flowing rhythms and then moving into three linked pieces – Solidao by Antonio Carlos Jobin, with its warm melodic lines; a more extrovert Samablamento by Luis Bonfa and the lovely lilting Vals No3 by Antonio Lauro.

Though none of the music was difficult on the ear, the three preludes by Villa Lobos were certainly more challenging with the classically framed No3, the playfully indulgent No2 and the reflective No4. This latter Richard Bowen regards as spooky but its charm seemed to deny this.

For those of us of a certain age Tico Tico was verey familiar and brought some lovely rubato in the phrasing. The final two Latin American works were the delicately pretty Velos Retrato by Jonas Batista and the Barcarole by Augustine Barrios Mangore.

He concluded with a gently sentimental arrangement of a Catalan folksong Spirit of the Seas, bringing a splendid lunchtime event to a close and leaving very much hoping he will return again soon.