A friend got us tickets to the Brad Paisley concert as a birthday present, and the Queen Of The World and I went last night. Seeing him perform live really underscores what a great guitarist he is. That made me think of great guitarists, and when you think of that you think of Julian Bream. Bream took an interest in guitar as a young child after hearing the music of Django Reinhardt, and taught himself to play. He sparked an interest in Elizabethan music when he formed the Julian Bream Consort, playing the lute. This is what caused Queen Elizabeth to award him the CBE for his services to music.
But he was always best known (on these shores, at least) for his classical guitar. I don't know if he was the greatest to ever play it, but I don't know that he wasn't. Here is a typical example, of a typically complex Bach fugue which really showcases his amazing talent.
Amazing that anyone can make his fingers work in such a manner as to appear effortless. I had an LP of Christopher Parkening who is also in that league. Plus no squeaking on the strings which some guitar players do.
ReplyDeleteWhat a master of his instrument, and self taught to boot!
Very nice.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm more of a guitarist than, say, my cats, it's hard to consider myself one in comparison. And while I was a kid in the late 60s/early 70s, while my friends were head banging to Ozzy's Black Sabbath, my first love was classical guitar and I went to see Carlos Montoya in concert. He was more a master of flamenco guitar, but had a broad repertoire.
I went to see Black Sabbath, too.
Libertyman, I have several of Bream's CDs but none of Parkening's. That's why I picked Bream.
ReplyDeleteGraybeard, Montoya was very cool but as you say more Spanish than classical. I thought about Paco de Lucea as well but same applies to him.