John Duarte always composed for the most purist reason there is–the sheer love of it. Beginning in his teens as an amateur jazz guitarist, he soon began writing more classically inspired works primarily based on improvisation. Just before his 50th birthday, Duarte’s “increasingly rewarding hobby” (as he puts it in the notes) made him decide to retire professionally as a scientist and devote himself to composing. Since then, Duarte has established quite a reputation in guitar circles, recieving commissions from such luminaries as Andrés Segovia and John Williams. Now an octogenarian, Duarte seems never to have lost sight of his original motive: making the appeal of his music simple. He writes completely unpretentious, accessible tunes arising from his own pleasure and offered for the pleasure of others.
While most of the selections here were composed with other guitarists in mind, Antigoni Goni’s performances are thoroughly enjoyable and technically faultless. The opening Pastorale movement of the first selection, Suite Piemontese, features a lively dance riddled with counterpoint in the tradition of Tarrega (La Cartagenera instantly comes to mind). Goni’s expert rendering of Duarte’s triptych suite Birds is equally stunning with its sudden chromatic shifts and near-gymnastic fingering requirements. Less virtuosic though equally inspired is Duarte’s Musikones, a five-movement suite featuring three Terpsichores that clearly give a melodic nod to Erik Satie’s first three Gnossiennes. Here Duarte’s improvisational brilliance transforms Satie’s meditations into bizarre sinister dances.
As usual, Naxos’ sound is excellent, with Goni’s guitar amply detailed in a dry acoustic setting. Duarte’s rather personable notes read like reflections, briefly outlining his life, the selections, and his overall raison d’être. Naxos’ ongoing Guitar Collection series has continued to offer many outstanding recitals of works by unjustly neglected composers. Adam Holzman’s recent program of Antonio Lauro’s Venezuelan Waltzes, as well as Richard Cobo’s first volume in what eventually will be a complete cycle of Leo Brouwer’s guitar works are cases in point and should not be missed. Nor should this outstanding, very pleasurable disc.
