{"id":2498,"date":"2023-08-22T11:11:28","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T15:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/?p=2498"},"modified":"2023-08-30T22:05:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T02:05:00","slug":"spanish-candy-fanfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/spanish-candy-fanfare\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review – Spanish Candy – Five Stars!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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SPANISH CANDY<\/em><\/strong>  \u2022 Fanfare<\/h1>\n

Aaron Larget-Caplan (gtr) \u2022 TIGER TURN 888-10 (31:58)<\/h3>\n

ALB\u00c9NIZ <\/strong>Suite espa\u00f1ola <\/em><\/strong>No. 1, <\/strong>op. 47: No. 3, Sevilla. Granada <\/strong><\/em>(both arr. Larget-Caplan). Suite espa\u00f1ola <\/em>No. 2, <\/strong>op. 97: No. 4, Zambra granadiana. SANL\u00daCAR <\/strong>Mantilla de Feria<\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>T\u00c1RREGA<\/strong> La Paloma. La Mariposa. L\u00e1grima. <\/em><\/strong>Recuerdos de la Alhambra. <\/em><\/strong>MARQUINA <\/strong>Espa\u00f1a Ca\u00f1i. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Five stars: A beautiful homage from a master guitarist to Spain. \u201cCandy\u201d it might be, but offered at the highest level.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

Only 6 of Aaron Larget-Caplan\u2019s 10 discs has been reviewed in Fanfare<\/em>. I reviewed two of them: Honey Cadence <\/em>in Fanfare <\/em>46:1<\/a>, comprised of some of Larget-Caplan’s own compositions and God\u2019s Time<\/em><\/a>, a disc devoted to Larget-Caplan\u2019s transcriptions of Bach keyboard works for guitar (47:4<\/a>). This new disc, Spanish Candy<\/em> is his tenth album (no flies on me for knowing this!) and celebrates his love for Spanish music and flamenco, mixing arrangements of works originally for piano with pieces for guitar. It was Spanish music that inspired Larget-Caplan as a child, so the project is clearly dear to his heart. As he says, \u201cthis music lit a flame in my heart and literally changed my life\u201d; inevitably, Segovia was a large influence.<\/p>\n

This is his fourth disc on Tiger Turn records (and, indeed, with successful producer Kabir Sehgal) Larget-Caplan\u2019s trademark technical security mixed with flair and \u00e9lan fits this music perfectly. He also has a long history of working with flamenco dancers in a classical-flamenco fusion via his ensemble \u00a1Con Fuego!<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The attractive \u201cZambra granadina,\u201d the fourth and final movement of the 1888 Suite espa\u00f1ola <\/em>No. 2, is deservedly popular. Larget-Caplan’s rhythmic sense is the key to the success of the reading, while his timbral excellence and variety enlivens the musical surface. The recording, close and clear, supports his every move, The more extrovert “Sevilla” (from the first Suite) speaks of blazing sunshine, propelled along by its internal rhythms. Larget-Caplan’s articulation is splendid.<\/p>\n

Composed by flamenco guitarist Esteban De Sanl\u00facar (1910-89), Mantilla de Feria<\/em> is a gentler beast, and here it is Larget-Caplan’s control that is so impressive, maintaining a low dynamic while projecting the spirit of dance. As he does in the habanera, La Paloma<\/em> by Francisco T\u00e1rrega. The layering of bassline rhythm and sweet (and very famous) melody is exquisitely judged, the intervening registral space carrying an implicit loneliness. The next piece La Mariposa<\/em>, is complex yet brief; the rather more restrained L\u00e1grima <\/em>sings a sweet song in response. Perhaps a touch more flow would have sealed the deal here: expression that works in the concert hall sometimes can feel stilted in the recording studio. No such caveats about the remarkably peaceful Recuerdos de la Alhambra<\/em> (an impression helped by Larget-Caplan\u2019s superb tremolo <\/em>technique). The final offering of the five-piece T\u00e1rrega sequence is Prudent<\/em>, a minor-key \u00e9tude of great poignancy while maintaining its study-like demeanor.<\/p>\n

The last piece by Alb\u00e9niz follows: the serenata Granada<\/em>. And what colors Larget-Caplan is able to conjure up from his guitar here! Of all the loveliness on this disc, this performance is the fairest (and if that sounds like a slender maiden, it is not by accident: there is grace galore here). Finally, Pascual Marquina Narro\u2019s Espa\u00f1a Ca\u00f1i <\/em>(Gypsy Spain; the composer is better known with \u201cPasquina\u201d as the surname). Larget-Caplan puts a whole lot into his performance so the listener can draw a whole lot out. Detail is brilliantly projected, while the music itself is infused with the spirit of the pasodoble.<\/p>\n

A beautiful homage from a master guitarist to Spain. \u201cCandy\u201d it might be, but offered at the highest level. Recommended.  Colin Clarke<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five stars:<\/strong> A beautiful homage from a master guitarist to Spain. \u201cCandy\u201d it might be, but offered at the highest level.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in Issue 47:2 (Nov\/Dec 2023) of Fanfare<\/em> Magazine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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SPANISH CANDY  \u2022 Fanfare Aaron Larget-Caplan (gtr) \u2022 TIGER TURN 888-10 (31:58) ALB\u00c9NIZ Suite espa\u00f1ola No. 1, op. 47: No. 3, Sevilla. Granada (both arr. Larget-Caplan). Suite espa\u00f1ola No. 2, op. 97: No. 4, Zambra granadiana. SANL\u00daCAR Mantilla de Feria. T\u00c1RREGA La Paloma. La Mariposa. L\u00e1grima. Recuerdos de la Alhambra. MARQUINA Espa\u00f1a Ca\u00f1i. Five stars: A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150,6,53],"tags":[32,481,405],"class_list":["post-2498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press","category-recordings","category-reviews-2","tag-fanfare","tag-spanish-candy","tag-tiger-turn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2498"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518,"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions\/2518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alcguitar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}