Composer: Napoléon Coste
Performer: Jeffrey McFadden
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8554354
Release: 2000
Size: 234 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Introduction and Allegretto
25 Etudes, Op. 38
02. No. 1 in A minor: Allegretto
03. No. 2 in C major: Scherzando
04. No. 3 in D minor: Prelude
05. No. 4 in D major: Andantino
06. No. 5 in E major: Allegretto
07. No. 6 in A major: Andantino
08. No. 7 in A minor: Agitato
09. No. 8 in E minor: Scherzando
10. No. 9 in G major: Andantino
11. No. 10 in D major: Allegretto
12. No. 11 in G major
13. No. 12 in C major: Prelude
14. No. 13 in C major: Allegretto
15. No. 14 in A major: Andante
16. No. 15 in D major: Moderato
17. No. 16 in G minor: Allegretto
18. No. 17 in C major: Moderato
19. No. 18 in A minor: Allegro
20. No. 19 in A major: Allegretto
21. No. 20 in D major: Allegretto
22. No. 21 in G major
23. No. 22 in A minor: Tarantelle
24. No. 23 in A major: Moderato
25. No. 24 in D minor: Andantino
26. No. 25 in B flat major: Cantabile
27. Reverie Nocturne
Etudes from Complete Method for Guitar by Sor
28. Preludio (No. 11)
29. Andante (No. 14)
30. Preludio (No. 12)
31. Estudio (No. 13)
“Naxos arrives at the fourth installment in its complete cycle of Napoleon Coste’s guitar music. The influential 19th century French guitarist and composer wrote in an early Romantic style touched by sophisticated textures, idiomatic assurance, and formal symmetry. You might say that his music sounds like what Carl Maria von Weber might have written had he been a guitar specialist. In any event, Costé’s 25 Etudes Op. 38 mask their didactic aims by way of sheer musical delight. It’s fantastic guitar writing, packed with enough double-note patterns, glistening scale passages, ingenuous polyphonic effects, and sly harmonic twists to entice listeners and keep guitarists honest. Jeffrey McFadden not only is an extraordinary guitarist–he’s also an inspired musician. Hear, for instance, how he breathes life into the second etude’s flowing patterns, or his impeccable timing of all the cadenza-type passages throughout the etudes. What variety of touch, dynamic inflection, and color McFadden brings to the slower selections! Bass lines simply soar, and the bell-like sound he gets from the higher strings and remarkable registral independence makes us wonder if McFadden is actually playing a piano disguised as a guitar! Informative annotations, gorgeous engineering, and, well, you already know the rest. No question, this is one of the loveliest discs in Naxos’ burgeoning guitar collection.