Argentinean guitarist Roberto Aussel’s exploration of contemporary music includes this fine collection of works by Shankar, Takemitsu, Piazzolla and Campana. Recorded in 1987 and released originally on the Circé label (87103 LD), this collection was rereleased as the fourth volume in Mandala's Guitare plus series. The recording celebrates the blending of western, eastern and developing world musical forms.

    It begins with Ravi Shankar's L'aube enchantee. Shankar is no stranger to combining western and eastern music, as evidenced by his Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra with Andre Previn, his Morning Love for Sitar and Flute with Jean-Pierre Rampal and his West Meets East album with Yehudi Menuin. L'aube enchantee was adopted from the raga Todi and was played previously by Rampal and Lagoya. Todi is a traditional morning melody that begins slowly and meditatively before moving on to a rhythmic section of variations that builds to a final crescendo. There is a heavy use of unisons, octaves and fifths in the interplay between the guitar and flute. The guitar part makes use of repeating modal drones that are interspersed with rapid scale passages, arpeggios and tremolos. L'aube enchantee manages to capture the spirit of a raga within the confines of the western twelve-tone scale (ragas use a scale in which the octave is divided into twenty-two intervals). Both the transcription and the performance are entirely convincing. This unique piece serves as yet one more example of the diversity of material possible in the guitar repertoire.

    Toru Takemitsu is another composer with a strong grounding in both western and eastern schools of composition. In Toward the Sea for alto flute and guitar, as in his other works, Takemitsu combines the melodic and harmonic elements of the west with the textures and colors of the east. It is interesting to note the way in which both Takemitsu and Shankar create a relatively sparse sound space in which silence plays a key role. Valade and Aussel give a good, solid performance. I particularly like the dark, mysterious sound Aussel provides in the lower register and the contrasting bright, focused sound in the upper register. In addition to this recording, we are fortunate to have two superb recordings by David Starobin (New Music With Guitar, Bridge BCD 9009) and John Williams (Takemitsu, Sony SK 46720).

    Aside from the cross-cultural dimension, Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzola is a complete contrast to the Takemitsu and Shankar compositions. Strong melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements are the cornerstones of this four-movement work, which was written to evoke the history and evolution of the tango since the turn of the century. The movements include the fast and sensual dance Bordel 1900, the lyrical and melodic Café 1930, the bossa nova-influenced Night Club 1960 and the scholarly, modern Concert d'aujourd'hui. This piece is well suited to Aussel's lively articulation and the result is a delightful and energetic performance. Histoire du Tango has been also recorded by guitarists E. Lomonte (Barcarolle 248.003) and Jukka Savijoki (Ondine ODE 781-2).

    The final piece on this disc is the only one that I cannot recommend without reservation. Feed-Back by J. L. Campana is described as a dialog among guitar, flute and percussion. It is based on a piece for solo guitar entitled Nexus. Like Toward the Sea, it makes extensive use of space and of the tonal pallet of the flute and guitar. However, while Feed-Back has some interesting moments, the musical ideas in the piece are insufficient to sustain its sixteen minute length.

    The liner notes are relatively brief and it is unfortunate that they do not include a description of the Guitare plus series and the other volumes in the series. Anyone interested in further exploring the performances of Roberto Aussel should also consider Roberto Aussel Plays 20th Century Music (GHA 126.007).