We don't hear the name Agustin Barrios (1884-1944) much today, but in his home country of Paraguay - and in certain guitar circles - he is still revered. Guitarist John Williams once said of Barrios "...is the best of the lot, regardless of era. His music is better formed, it's more poetic, it's more everything!" Barrios dedicated his life to both music and poetry. He composed over 300 individual compositions. During his travels throughout South America, Barrios would sign copieds of this poems and give them to anyone who wanted one. Collectors warn that the originals are difficult to authenicate.
Barrios' music fell into three major categories: imitative, folk and religious. Many musicians consider his work call "La Catedral" his greatest composition. Barrios played parts of it to Andres Segovia and Segovia was entranced by it. He called it "... ideal for the repertory of any concert guitarist."
Our Guitar Picks this week:
Agustin Barrios - Waltz No. 3 - Alexander-Sergei Ramírez
Antonio Vivaldi - Guitar Concerto, RV93 - John Williams
Joseph Haydn/Francois de Fossa - Grand Duo Op.9/5 - Castellani-Andriaccio Duo
JS Bach - Prelude, Fugue and Allegro for Lute in E flat major, BWV 998 - David Lippel
Manuel de Falla - Danza del Molinero - Miloš Karadaglić
My ukulele pick this week is my friend Ken Middleton's version of a Bob Dylan classic: