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On sale -50%Composer Anthony Burgess was a novelist, historian, librettist, recusant, polemicist, and all-together polymath. What is remarkable about the pieces in Burgess: Complete Guitar Quartets is they are not the works of a celebrity non-musician venturing into the field, thus enjoying a novelty whether deserved or not. Rather, they are beautifully and skillfully crafted works by someone with an excellent command of harmony and counterpoint, who nevertheless was largely self-taught; that is a far greater and more legitimate novelty.
The recordings sound idiomatically composed for guitar. A listener does not detect unusually difficult or impossible-to-play passages in them. Burgess hired a guitarist to give lessons to his wife, after she had requested them, and upon learning their newly-hired teacher was a member of the Aïghetta Guitar Quartet, offered to compose some guitar pieces for the group. The offer was accepted and only four days later, Burgess presented the manuscript of Quartet No. 1, heard in this recording, to the astonished quartet. More works, also found in this recording, and of similarly high quality, were delivered later on.
There are also a number of charming smaller pieces Burgess titled Morceaux Irlandais, which are based on Irish folk tunes; as well included, of all things, is a transcription for guitar of the "Mercury" movement from Holst's The Planets—wonderful works by a man far better known for his writing than composing. One might draw a parallel to Charles Ives, whose reputation in his lifetime was as an innovative insurance executive, not a composer.
The performances here by the Mēla Quartet are superb, with excellent ensemble, well-chosen tempi, and artistic phrasing. © Anthony Fountain/Qobuz
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Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Gustav Holst, Composer - Anthony Burgess, Arranger - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Anthony Burgess, Composer - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Carl Maria Von Weber, Composer - Anthony Burgess, Arranger - Mēla Guitar Quartet, Ensemble, MainArtist - The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, MusicPublisher
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Album review
Composer Anthony Burgess was a novelist, historian, librettist, recusant, polemicist, and all-together polymath. What is remarkable about the pieces in Burgess: Complete Guitar Quartets is they are not the works of a celebrity non-musician venturing into the field, thus enjoying a novelty whether deserved or not. Rather, they are beautifully and skillfully crafted works by someone with an excellent command of harmony and counterpoint, who nevertheless was largely self-taught; that is a far greater and more legitimate novelty.
The recordings sound idiomatically composed for guitar. A listener does not detect unusually difficult or impossible-to-play passages in them. Burgess hired a guitarist to give lessons to his wife, after she had requested them, and upon learning their newly-hired teacher was a member of the Aïghetta Guitar Quartet, offered to compose some guitar pieces for the group. The offer was accepted and only four days later, Burgess presented the manuscript of Quartet No. 1, heard in this recording, to the astonished quartet. More works, also found in this recording, and of similarly high quality, were delivered later on.
There are also a number of charming smaller pieces Burgess titled Morceaux Irlandais, which are based on Irish folk tunes; as well included, of all things, is a transcription for guitar of the "Mercury" movement from Holst's The Planets—wonderful works by a man far better known for his writing than composing. One might draw a parallel to Charles Ives, whose reputation in his lifetime was as an innovative insurance executive, not a composer.
The performances here by the Mēla Quartet are superb, with excellent ensemble, well-chosen tempi, and artistic phrasing. © Anthony Fountain/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:59:27
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Mēla Guitar Quartet
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Naxos
- Genre: Classical
2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
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