Manuel Barrueco's explorations into American music have led him outside the artificial boundaries of classical music to contemporary artists Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Lou Harrison and Paul Simon. These composers combine classical sensibilities with jazz, world or pop music in a quintessentially American way. Although Barrueco had prior to this focused on the Baroque and Spanish repertoire, Sometime Ago shows that he is more than up to the challenge of performing and communicating this music.

    About a third of the disc is devoted to twelve of Chick Corea's twenty Children's Songs for piano. Ranging from one to two minutes each, these miniatures are for the most part wistful and quiet in nature. Barrueco makes them sound as if they were written for the guitar, and as such they are a welcome addition to our repertoire. An original piano version is available on a recording by L. Bates (Naxos 8.550341), which also includes Preludes and Songs by Gershwin. Corea's Sometime Ago is an eleven-minute piece that translates easily to the guitar. By exploiting the guitar's wide tonal palette, Barrueco provides a new perspective on the piece, making it seem at once new and familiar. I enjoyed especially his spirited articulation on the opening melody lines and his emphasis on the upbeats in the chordal sections.

    On listening to Keith Jarret's original performance of Köln Concert, Pt IIc for solo piano, I wondered how it could be transcribed successfully to the guitar. Its harmonic richness and virtuostic melody lines make for a technically demanding piece. High praise is due Barrueco for his intelligent transcription, which sounds smooth and spontaneous. In his hands, the piece takes on a more relaxed feel than the original, while still preserving its essence.

    Five pieces by Lou Harrison are included on Sometime Ago. His Serenade for Frank Wigglesworth, written in 1952, stylistically foreshadows works ranging from Brouwer's Etudes to New Age guitar music. Basically a melody with arpeggiated accompaniment, its harmonies are achieved almost exclusively without the use of simultaneously played notes. Barrueco's refined playing and attention to detail in this simple piece produce a rewarding listening experience. Harrison's Music for Bill and Me and Sonata in Ishartum were both written for harp. In the contemplative Music for Bill and Me, Barrueco replaces several octave passages with single lines of overlapping notes, resulting in a more legato effect that is faithful to the spirit of the piece. Sonata in Ishartum has the feel of a two-voice fugue in flamenco mode, with Barrueco using color changes very effectively between the A and B sections. The last two Harrison pieces on this recording, Round and Air, are part of the Serenade for Guitar, a work with a Middle Eastern feel distinguished by monophonic writing and simple percussion. Barrueco plays Air with a very free feeling; Round, in contrast, is played with animation and forward motion. Particularly noteworthy is his articulation on the fourths in the middle section. These five pieces can also be heard on David Tanenbaum's recording Lou Harrison: The Perilous Chapel (New Albion NA055CD).

    Sometime Ago opens with arrangements of Paul Simon's Old Friends and closes with his Bookends. Written for the guitar, they take on great beauty through Barrueco's sonorous and delicate performances.

    Barrueco's forays into new areas (such as his release of works by Lennon/McCartney) are proof that great artists view learning and exploring as something to be done for as long as they continue performing. We are fortunate that Barrueco shares his discoveries with us through his recordings. Sometime Ago is a disc I will return to often. The liner notes provide good insight into Barrueco's thinking about these pieces and the idea behind this disc. The recording quality is very good. Recommended.

    Jim Tosone is a Contributing Editor and Staff Reviewer for Guitar Review magazine. He has written for Soundboard magazine and authored the classical guitar entries for the three-volume Music in the Twentieth Century.


His new book, Classical Guitarists: Conversations, contains in-depth interviews with Bream, Williams, Fisk, Isbin, Starobin, Tanenbaum and others. It also includes reviews of their CDs and concerts, and a discography of their recordings.

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