Emilio PUJOL (1886-1980)
Estudios
Frank Bungarten (guitar)
rec. 2018, Konzerthaus der Abtei Marienmünster, Germany
MDG 905 2131-6 SACD [68:48]
Unlike other concert instruments, the annals of the guitar are not full of renowned virtuosi.
The reason is simple: few serious musicians embraced the guitar, and it was not until the 20th century that Andres Segovia commenced a life-long career of promoting the guitar globally, and having it established as a serious concert instrument. He had some brilliant predecessors, but for both technical reasons, and the sound limitations of the guitar prior to Antonia Torres (1817-1892), the focus of the guitar had been as a salon instrument, not one to be played in large venues. Segovia was able to overcome both these challenges and establish the guitar internationally as a concert instrument.
An instrument with few virtuosi, and the limitations the guitar possessed, did not attract major composers. There are no original works by Mozart, Beethoven or Mendelssohn in the guitar repertory. A number of the early guitar virtuosi wrote their own compositions, and while some are not without merit, Segovia initially struggled with a repertory that, while expansive in breadth, had a paucity of quality. His strategy was to approach contemporary composers of significance to write original works for the guitar, and to make his own arrangements and transcriptions of music suitable for the guitar. In both initiatives he excelled.
This recording presents a composer whose name is well known in the guitar world, but whose actual compositions are generally not so well known, with minor exceptions such as El Abejorro (track 18). His music is parsimoniously recorded and infrequently included in concert programmes. To listen to a broader selection of his music one must revert to such sources as YouTube.
Emilio Pujol Vilarrubi was born in 1886 in Le Granadella. He was a student and disciple of the great Francisco Tarrega, and along with Miguel Llobet, the most celebrated of Tarrega’s pupils.
Most guitar players will have encountered didactic pieces by Pujol, but few will be aware that he wrote a very important method for the guitar. While Pujol’s method follows on from the art of Aguado and Sor, it does so on a technical level far beyond them. The Pujol method comprises four volumes written between 1923 and the 1960s.
In the liner notes, guitarist Frank Bungarten is full of accolades for the method and describes personal successes over a forty year period with musical and technical development in guitar playing. He suggests Pujol’s treatment of the instrument, over and above the school of Tarrega, can be viewed as a continuation of a violinistic tradition from Paganini via Sarasate and Kreisler to Ysaye. While Tarrega and LLobet’s music had more in common with the violin than the piano, this is even more obvious with Pujol. In this recording Bungarten concentrates on the etudes by Pujol because this genre best illustrates the link between the characteristic idiom of the instrument and the composer’s didactic mission. In total 20 studies are presented, the shortest 0:47 and the longest 30:45. In addition to its length, the latter is particularly interesting: one variation is played with the left hand only and another exclusively on only one string. Here Pujol’s music employs techniques in common with the violin.
The general unfamiliarity with the volumes of Pujol’s method is probably a direct consequence of its limited availability in the past, now relieved via the electronic media. It is also only published in Spanish although Bungarten indicates volume two is also available in French. This significantly limits the full didactic value to the non-Spanish/French speaking student who cannot access the meticulous execution directions supplied by the author.
Frank Bungarten was born in Cologne in 1958. In 1981 his distinguished teacher, Andres Segovia, presented him with First Prize at the Granada Guitar Competition of that year. He subsequently concertized throughout the world in over forty countries. For three decades he has recorded the significant composers of the guitar and on two occasions he has been honoured as The Instrumentalist of the Year by Echo Klassik for this contribution. He has taught as a professor at the Lucerne University of Music and continues to teach at the Hanover University of Music, Theatre, and Media.
The playing on this disc is sure-footed and robust, complemented by a fine tone. On repeated listening one confirms an initial impression that Bungarten’s playing reflects the passion he articulates for the music in the informative liner notes. The guitar used is from the hands of luthier Garry Southwell, and was made in 2018. It employs a combination of spruce and satinwood; the design is after an 1883 Antonio Torres guitar.
While this music will have wide appeal to guitar aficionados, it is particularly valuable for students, and those wishing to expand their technical prowess on the instrument. It should be considered an important contribution to the discography of significant 20th century guitar composers.
Zane Turner
Contents
1 Canto de Otono [3:55]
2 El Libelula [1:11]
3 Variaciones sobre No 19 del Metodo de Aguado [30:45]
4 Nocturno [1:17]
5 Vivace [1:26]
6 Copla de Seguidilla [2:55]
7 Zortzico [2:27]
8 Bolero [1:21]
9 Allegretto [2:05]
10 Andantino [1:25]
11 El cant dells ocells [3:00]
12 Allegretto grazioso [2:47]
13 Alala [0:58]
14 Allegro (Estudio XIII ) [1:32]
15 Allegro (Estudio XIX) [1:19]
16 Andante quasi Adagio [1:58]
17 Estudio No 1 [0:47]
18 El Abejorro [1:41]
19 Estudio de grado superior No 7 [3:39]
20 Estudio de grado superior No 6 [2:09]
