If you are bored with the familiar repertoire for classical guitar (what you might call the Segovian Canon), then you might try the compositions of the Paraguayan polymath Augustín Barrios (1885–1944). Guitarist John Williams has led the revival of his work. A poet, mathematician and journalist, as well as a performer and composer, Barrios was a Paraguayan mestizo, fluent in the Guaraní Indian language as well as Spanish. His compositions are warm, imaginative, and virtuosic enough to challenge and excite any guitarist. Yet underneath they have a solid architecture. For example, the piece called La Catedral seems as delicate as a snowflake, but it’s structure is as strong and disciplined as a Bach partita. Most of the pieces that I heard have this “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” quality. Other pieces that especially move me are Una Limosna Por el Amor de Dios, Aconquija, Maxixe, and Chôro da Saudade. But, they are not exceptions: every piece I’ve heard is worth listening to several times. Paraguayan folk music influenced his work as much as the familiar baroque and classical sources, giving it a flavour you won’t find elsewhere. Williams offers several recordings. I’m listening to The Great Paraguayan, which offers seventeen representative pieces.
Augustín Barrios, the Great Paraguayan
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