The Grandeur Of The Baroque

I too feel that this is an outstanding CD -- the selections are well-chosen, the transcriptions masterful, the playing exquisite, and the recording flawless. I too added this to my favorite guitar music drawer, where 2 prior David Russell CDs reside (Sonidos Latinos, Art of the Guitar). Very enjoyable music!I especially appreciated the very learned yet menschlich booklet notes, which I assume Mr Russell wrote himself. Thank you! And on headphones, the strings resonate beautifully, but I can barely hear only a couple deep breaths -- really well done!

You will really enjoy Mr. Russell's playing, Just I said about Sr. Barrueco, he too exhibits precise playing without being pedandic or too academic. He extracts lovely sounds from what must be an already superlative instrument. Precision is the hallmark of excellent classical guitar performance, and he lacks any semblance of hesitation or imprecise playing. You will enjoy this recording.

David Russell has joined Christopher Parkening as one of my two favorite classical guitarists, but Russell has a much larger repertoire and brings perfect sensitivity and expression to each and every genre. I own every one of his albums that I can acquire.

A great album by one of the great players.

great guitarist

It is testimony to the insanity of this world that every living person on earth has not yet been acquainted with this music. It's that beautiful. David Russell has always been good, one of the best...but when I heard this CD, I had goosebumps from beginning to end. A truly remarkable CD that takes baroque guitar to its highest level. I loved it.

Not as powerful as a harpsichord version, but considering this is arranged for guitar, you will appreciate it. Like I said, just sample it and see if you like it.

A fine player. I liked this.n morse

This is one of those rare CDs where you can only do it justice by stopping everything you are doing and listening to the whole with attention and focus. David Russell's playing demands this and it is easy to do anyway because Russell's tone and articulation are perfect. The two star review here complains about the sound quality and production of the recording. The reviewer is mistaken. The recording is first class. The dark, rich almost piano like tone in places is down to Russell's tone production which is less nasal and percussive than say John Williams. It is also down to Russell's guitar. In an interview on Youtube he says he prefers a darker, warmer tone and this is obviously what he asked his guitar maker Mathias Damman (one of the best in the world) to produce and that is what you get: a fat, rich warm tone which sounds lovely especially in the transcription of the Handel Suite where it sounds as beefy as a big harpsichord but with much more expression. If you like this repertoire do yourself a favour and buy this disc. You will not regret it.

I am absolutely blown away and in love with this album. David Russell is my all time favourite guitarist, especially for Baroque music, but please don't let my bias detract from how utterly beautiful this album is. I didn't think he could surpass his previous recording of Handal's Passacaglia, but he has injected an extra something magical, which I can't articulate, into this version.The Couperin is a revelation and wonderfully brought to life by Mr Russell. The rest is expertly and emotionally translated onto the guitar from start to finish, by this true master.There is a reason other guitarist's shy away from recording something this epic and that is because David Russell has nailed it already and they can't possibly do it better or at all.This album is for true Classical Guitar fans played by the Guitarist's Guitarist. It will leave you in awe. This will be something you listen to a hundred times and still want to hear again. Inspirational stuff!

I am really quite surprised by the other positive reviews here. It is certainly true that David Russell's musicianship is exceptional as always and the interpretations of the various pieces are interesting and well-executed.Unfortunately the whole album is let down very badly by truly terrible production. Whether this is poor recording technique or later processing is unclear. The music as heard through a good quality sound system is more like that of a piano than a guitar. The bass is muffled, devoid of the sonorous quality expected from a great guitarist playing a great guitar. The treble is tonally dead, making the intricate ornamentation so fundamental to baroque music muddy and unexciting.The disc label is Telarc. One I'm going to give a miss in the future.

Superbly played selection of baroque works on guitar. David Russell is probably the most consistently flawless player currently recording - musically insightful, technically completely secure, and avoiding any annoying mannerisms or the incidental squeaks and screeches that put many people off classical guitar playing. Highly recommended.

Simply the best! Sit back and enjoy this cd and by all means wonder at the classical guitar technique of David Russell, but above all listen to the superb quality of the music, as that's what he really wants you to do.