There are numerous examples of musicians who demonstrate unique
affinity for the music of fellow-countrymen; this recording is
a case in point. A re-release of music recorded in 1998, it originally
appeared on the Dorian
label.
Paraguayan-born Berta Rojas displays the same sort of empathy
and understanding with music by Barrios that Alirio Diaz manifests
with the Venezuelan waltzes of Antonio Lauro. The liner-notes
contain little information about Rojas and her personal website
is no more illuminative. Rojas was born in Ascencion, Paraguay
and commenced guitar studies aged seven. At age 19 she decided
to become a full-time professional guitarist. Her first guitar
teacher in Paraguay was Felipe Sosa. She also studied with Violete
de Mestral, and then in Uruguay with Eduardo Fernandez and Abel
Carlevaro. At the Peabody Conservatorium in Baltimore she obtained
a Master’s Degree in Music with honours, and a Graduate
Performance Diploma. Rojas is currently Professor of Guitar at
the George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Agustin Barrios was described by guitarist John Williams as ‘the
greatest composer of guitar music ever.’
Some feel
that it takes a very special person to write music of this calibre:
not just of high intellect and creativity but also one gifted
with understanding and love of their fellow-man. Barrios was
all that and more. His very last composition,
La Ultima Cancion,
written just before he died, was inspired by an old woman beggar
who called at his home in San Salvador. The full title,
Una
Limosna por le Amor de Dios - An Alm for the Love of God
- is what was asked of him. Unable to give money, he gave a commitment
to write a piece of music inspired by the mendicant. In this
tremolo composition the lower voice contains a motif, unaltered
throughout the music that is said to symbolize the ‘knocking
on the door’ of the beggar. The priest who attended Barrios
when he died said that it was the first time he had ‘witnessed
the death of a saint’.
Unable to give anything of monetary value, another great composer
of guitar music also made a gift of a tremolo composition. It
was to doña Concha on the occasion of her birthday in 1899
that Francisco Tarrega gave his
Recuerdos de la Alhambra.
In 1917 Barrios discovered the works of Tarrega and this inspired
him to begin composing some of his best works. Some years later
he wrote ‘Variations on a Theme of Tarrega’ - one
of his most technically demanding pieces. Paying homage to Tarrega’s
Lagrima,
it
comprises six variations and demonstrates Barrios’s mastery
of guitar technique and composition. It is a good example of
his most mature writing.
There is no shortage of excellent recordings that capably present
the music of Barrios. Although not the first to record Barrios,
in 1977 John Williams was the first to release a complete album
of his compositions. A decade earlier, the Spanish master Jose
Luis Gonzalez Julia had recorded several pieces. Around the same
time Laurindo Almeida recorded Op. 8 No.4, a version that compares
favourably with anything subsequently recorded.
Berta Rojas is a master guitarist who displays outstanding technical
and musical capabilities in this recording. Her feeling for the
music imbues these interpretations with qualities that reflect
what one imagines Barrios originally intended. Precisely what
he intended is not always discernable from the score. Tardy in
writing down his compositions, in recital he often deviated from
the original. Those familiar with modern recordings and available
scores of
Danza Paraguaya (19) will note significant differences
in the rendition presented here. Rojas has tried to authenticate
her interpretations by listening to Barrios’s original
recordings, which he made as early as 1908 and was the first
classical guitarist to do so.
The qualities of Barrios are aurally conveyed to us through the
music by Rojas: love of beauty, goodness, spirituality and love
itself. There is great tenderness in some of the interpretations
but Rojas is capable of chameleon-like swings in mood as required
in
La Catedral, and the transition from
Choro da Saudade to
Las
Abejas. Her tremolo is as smooth as glass and the often remarkably
challenging technical components of the music are disguised by
formidable technique, making them seem non-existent. Overlaying
all this is a sonorous tone complemented by a guitar from the
hands of Robert Ruck - except (4) where she uses an instrument
by Michael O’Leary.
Not to be missed if the original release escaped you.
Zane Turner
Berta Rojas (guitar) 
