“Barbad's Fables”
Thanos Mitsalas “Barbad's Fables”
Works for solo guitar by Latin American Composers Assad, Barrios, Gismonti, Miranda
Track List:
Sergio Assad (b.1952)
[1] Sun Wukong’s Toccata 7:22 *
Egberto Gismonti (b.1947)
[2] Mcmoria c Fado 5:48
Ronaldo Miranda (b.1948)
[3] Apassionata 7:37
Egberto Gismonti (b.1947)
[4] Palhaęo 3:29
Agustin Barrios Mangore (1885-1944)
[5] Una Limosna por cl Amor dc Dios 3:37
Sergio Assad (b.1952)
[6] Barbad’s Fables 10:50 *
Agustin Barrios Mangore (1885-1944)
[7] Prcludio op.5 n.l 2:46
[8] Choro da Saudadc 5:48
[9] Las Abcjas 2:03
* Premiere CD Recordings
CD available from: https://davinci-edition.com
Recorded: March 1st 2023 (Tracks 1,6), Dec 21th 2023 (Tracks 2,3,4) Dec 29th 2023 (Tracks 5,7,8,9) - Cue Productions (cue.gr) Program duration: [49.20”]
Sound Engineering/Editing/Mixing/Mastering: Yiannis Mavridis (cue.gr) Liner Notes: Dimitris Kotronakis Photo credits: Nikos Chrysoulis
Guitar: Constantin Dumitriu (November 2021)
Unquestionably, among the most influential composers for guitar of the latter half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Brazilian Sérgio Assad (b. 1952) ranks high. He is primarily recognised for his involvement in the most exceptional guitar duo in history, where he collaborates with his brother Odair. In his works, Sérgio employs a diverse range of materials and compositional techniques, while consistently drawing inspiration from the musical tradition and the abundant melodic and rhythmic elements of his homeland.
Sun Wukong's Toccata is a programmatic composition that comprises eight different sections. These sections have relatively loose musical connections and are intended to honour the the Chinese mythological hero, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King. Sun Wukong plays a pivotal role in the classic Chinese work Journey to the West, accompanying Master Monk Tang Sanzang on his pilgrimage to ancient India, in search of priceless Buddhist sutras. Along the way, the Buddha has them complete eighty-one challenges designed to gauge their honesty and commitment. Overall, this is a virtuoso work with many fast passages, but virtuosity is not an end in itself. On the contrary, it provides the ideal setting for the composer's subtle, hidden touches and ingenious accents to shine. There are also delicate slow passages, as well as idiomatic ones (such as left-hand tapping or the use of a tuning fork at the end of the piece). In all cases, each effect is part of the description of a situation or character, thus maintaining the work's programmatic mood.
The next in the list of Assad's work, Barbad's Fables, is the one that gives the name to the whole album. According to Arabic and Persian sources, he played the barbat, a four-stringed instrument, being the most distinguished and gifted minstrel-poet of his time, under Shahanshah Khosrow II (r. 590-628 AD). He is traditionally credited with numerous innovations in Persian music theory and practice, though the attributions are tentative, because they were made centuries after his death. Except for a single poem fragment and a few composition titles, almost all Barbad's music and poetry have been lost. Barbad's Fables is a single-movement work that consists of 7 or 8, distinct, relatively small parts of different character, where the free, slow parts alternate with the rhythmic and fast ones. Rare guitar effects, such as tapping with the left and right hand, or light friction of right-hand thumb flesh over the strings, are used to intensify the mysterious and dramatic character of the work or to strengthen the rhythmic element. The dominant materials, however, are the scales with trisemitones, which dominate almost the entire length of the work, giving it its characteristic "Persian" timbre. Dramatic melodies with elaborate ornamentation emerge, usually in the higher voice, while a dense weave, typical of Assad's compositional style, supports the harmonic and rhythmic foundation.
Also Brazilian, Ronaldo Miranda (b. 1948) wrote Appassionata in 1984, a piece commissioned by guitarist Turíbio Santos. During the compositional stage, Santos assisted Miranda in the creative process. However, Appassionata was not first performed by the Brazilian guitarist, but 12 years later, by Fábio Zanon, who also revised the first version of the work. Miranda, a composer repeatedly awarded for his work, holds a prominent place in the Brazilian music scene, thanks to a continuous stream of important symphonic and chamber music works. The title of the work, like several of Miranda's other works, is borrowed from the historical repertoire, but it bears no other relation to Beethoven's well-known sonata, with the exception, perhaps, of the use of two contrasting musical themes in a form like that of the classical sonata form. The work's rich harmonies pay homage to the composer's Brazilian heritage while its creative technique is reminiscent of the late Romantic piano tradition.
Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947) is another important figure of the Brazilian music, a world-renowned composer, but also a skilful pianist and guitarist. His music is deeply influenced by the folk tradition of his homeland and the classical music, especially that by Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as by the harmonic language and improvisational mood of jazz music.
Memoria e fado is a ballad by Gismonti, with a relatively simple weave and structure, its main feature being a subtle melody that unfolds in the higher voice. On a second level, the main melody is accompanied by responses from the intermediate voice, while intensely charged chords alternate in each measure. The composition's lyrical and nostalgic quality is enhanced by the title's allusion to fading memories.
Gismonti's next piece, entitled Palhaço (Clown), is a transcription from the original piano version, made by the master of the art of arrangements, Sérgio Assad. Although Gismonti is also a very good guitarist, who uses even multi-stringed instruments, Palhaço was written for the piano. It is an excellent example of transferring a piano piece to the guitar repertoire, giving the impression, to those who do not know the original version, that the work was composed for the stringed instrument from the beginning, or that the guitar version is superior to the piano one, to those who already know the authentic version. Once more Gismonti presents a piece of simple texture and structure, yet he emerges as an inventive melodist who weaves a captivating melody without indulging in unnecessary embellishments and effects. The Brazilian composer seems to have a natural ability to effortlessly compose beautiful, expressive melodies that capture the listener's emotions, while dressing them with charming harmonies of the Brazilian jazz aesthetic.
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885 - 1944) is widely regarded as the most revered and renowned guitar composer in the guitar history. He has an extensive list of compositions, many of which are performed by guitar soloists worldwide. He was among the pioneering classical guitarists to produce recordings, with a total of approximately 50 tracks recorded. His exceptional talent is articulated by Richard D. Stover, the leading expert on Barrios: "The defining feature of Barrios' music lies in the harmonious integration of musical, technical, and emotional elements. The way in which Barrios proceeds - how the hands work, the harmony and modulation he employs, and the emotional expressiveness and imagery he achieves - the unity of these elements support the claim that Barrios is the greatest guitarist/composer of any time". His music exhibits a late-romantic aesthetic, drawing inspiration from the piano literature and incorporating elements from the Baroque compositional style. Additionally, it is heavily influenced by the traditional music of the composer's homeland and other South and Central American countries, while can be categorized into three main genres: folk, imitative, and religious.
Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios (Alms for the Love of God) is an example of a religiously inspired work, although the piece was not given that name from the beginning. The prevailing story of this melancholy piece, in which the tremolo technique is demonstrated, is as follows: A beggar positioned himself daily across the street from the house where Barrios resided in San Salvador and beg people passing by with the phrase "Una limosna por el amor de Dios?" Barrios was motivated to write this piece after hearing this phrase daily. The persistent bass figure, repeated ingeniously throughout the work, underlines the melody played with the tremolo technique, representing the beggar's incessant query. On August 7, 1944, a month after he finished the composition, Barrios passed away, leaving this complete but untitled tremolo. The piece was erroneously titled El último tremolo (The last tremolo), El último canto and La última canción (The last song), as it is the last major piece that the composer from Paraguay ever composed. In remembrance of the aforementioned story the piece received the name of Una limosna por el amor de Dios.
Choro da saudade was composed by Barrios in Uruguay, probably before 1928, and published in Sao Paolo in 1929. It has folkloric influences from the Brazilian tradition of choro, a type of dance that is an ancestor of samba, whose music originally denoted urban ensemble music comprising wind instruments and guitars. Incorporating three different "moods" of choro, Barrios composed one of his most popular works to date. Despite the direct reference to the choro tradition, the work is primarily melodic and secondarily rhythmic. The second compound word in the work's title, saudade, it is the melodic development that charges the listener's emotions with its nostalgic quality. This is a Portuguese word, translating as the mix of longing, sadness and nostalgia.
As for the piece Las Abejas (The Bees) was created in 1921, also in Uruguay. The composition is marked as Allegro brillante, and is centered around the use of fast arpeggios and scalar passages, demanding exceptional technical skill. Based on its name, one might assume that the piece relates to the tireless insects. However, there is a different story behind the naming of this piece. Barrios' friend Martin Borda Pagola, to whom the work was dedicated, was always exhorting Barrios to write down his music on paper, something which Barrios didn't do for a great number of his works. It is worth noting that we know that more than 40 original works exist without a manuscript. Borda y Pagola became so frustrated with Barrios one day, when Barrios was visiting, that he locked him in a room and declared that until he wrote down a substantial amount of his music in manuscript form, he would not be allowed to leave. Thus, Barrios began working and created Las Abejas, giving it that name to show his friend that he was indeed an industrious worker like "the bees".
Based on the arpeggio technique, the Preludio in G minor, Op. 5, No. 1 is a work with a weave like Las Abejas. The melody and the harmony unfold horizontally, without the simultaneous striking of two notes until the final cadence. This work was also written in Uruguay, in 1921 and is one of only three opus number works by Barrios, along with the two very popular waltzes Op. 8, No. 3 and No. 4. The use of opus numbers was purportedly an attempt by Barrios' friend Martin Borda y Pagola to organize Barrios' compositions. But outside of opus 5 (which was presumably a set of preludes) and opus 8 (a collection of waltzes), no other opus number was ever assigned to the great volume of works Barrios produced. In Preludio the composer incorporates elements from the style of J. S. Bach's preludes, constructing a work in which both of his favourite aesthetic concepts of classical music, Romanticism and Baroque, coexist.
Dimitris Kotronakis
REVIEWS FOR THANOS'S SOLO CD PROJECT
“BARBAD’S FABLES” (DaVinci Classics 2024)
Born in Naousa, Greece, guitarist Thanos Mitsalas makes his Fanfare debut with this, Barbad’s Fables. He enjoys a special relationship with the works of Brazilian composer Sergio Assad, and this disc includes two of that composer’s works. Both of the Assad pieces here are world premiere recordings. The first is Sun Wukong’s Toccata. The titular character is also known as the Monkey King. On a pilgrimage to India to locate holy sutras, the Monkey King must complete a number of challenges that test his devotion. The music is both programmatic (in the sense of a palpable narration) and beautiful. Assad does use effects (knocking on the wood of the guitar as a percussion device, bending of notes to imitate a sitar, and the use of a tuning fork at the piece’s conclusion). The piece is markedly virtuosic at times, and Mitsalas plays with expert technique. He also understands Assad’s way with discourse. It is legend that fuels Assad’s other contribution here (heard later in the album), Barbad’s Fables. Barbad was a storyteller from Persia around 600 AD. Assad uses Persian-related scales as a basis, creating the requisite stage. The piece is texturally diverse, and hugely challenging for the performer; Mitsalas is the perfect “narrator.”
The language of Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947) is a little more gnarly than Assad’s. Best known perhaps for his Agua e Vino (try Chrisina Sandsengen on Odradek, Fanfare 38:4), his Memória e Fado is imbued with a sense of faded recollection. It contrasts with the highly active Appassionata by Ronaldo Miranda (b. 1948) that makes a titular reference to Beethoven (and is also written in sonata form), but otherwise is far more allied with the composer’s native Brazil. Mitsalas projects a sense of longing through carefully controlled rubato; despite its sense of Rückblick, this piece includes some fiendish passages, again well taken. Gismonti bookends Miranda with his piece Palhaço (Clown). The booklet notes (but not the track listing) tell us that this is originally a piano piece, and that it is heard here in Sergio Assad’s transcription for guitar. There is a transcription also for four guitars on the Chandos album Spirit of Brazil, although Mitsalas makes a finer case for solo guitar.
The simply lovely Una limosna por el amor de Dios (Alms for the Love of God) is by Paraguayan composer Agustín Barrios Mangoré. The repeated bass represents the plaint of a beggar, the inspiration for the piece; it is short but most touching. It is also a study in tremolo, and Mitsalas is miraculously even (to the extent that I prefer Mitsalas to John Williams in this piece). It is Barrios Mangoré whose music ends the recital with three pieces. Preludio (Prelude), op. 5/1, is an active bull of arpeggios, restless and seemingly out of kilter with itself. The Choro da Saudade takes in three different moods of the choro, while the concluding Las abejas (The Bees) fully lives up to its indicator of Allegro brillante. The busy buzzing is most amusing as well as sonically appealing. There is a second strand to the piece’s story: Barrios Mangoré was notoriously bad at writing down his compositions, and was locked in a room by a well-meaning friend until he did so (or at least, presumably, some of them). The title also refers to working away, like “the bees.”
This is a very lovely recital that introduces a highly talented performer. Very strongly recommended.
Colin Clarke - Fanfare Magazine (Issue 48:6, July/Aug 2025)
Thanos Mitsalas, cuya impecable trayectoria profesional y experiencia como especialista en la obra de Sergio Assad avalan este trabajo, nos ofrece un disco fascinante por su magnífica interpretación y el sutil contraste estilístico de las obras seleccionadas.
Los cuatro compositores del álbum representan trayectorias artísticas que, de una manera u otra, buscan cruzar fronteras de estilo. Esto no es inusual en la composición latinoamericana y el gentilicio del subtítulo puede perfectamente connotar por sí mismo cierta hibridación estética.
Agustín Barrios (1885-1944) recoge la tradición clásico-romántica occidental inspirándose a menudo en la música popular y en elementos locales de su Paraguay natal u otros que pudieron llamar su atención durante sus numerosos viajes por el continente. Estas cuatro obras son muy representativas de su acercamiento creativo, bien por los bellos diseños instrumentales tan eficazmente utilizados, bien por el extraordinario dominio melódico y armónico que muestran. Los otros tres compositores son brasileños. El sugerente contraste de sus estilos nos parece todo un acierto. Sergio Assad (1952) explora poética y musicalmente leyendas ancestrales en sus dos obras y nos traslada a tiempos y espacios ficticios de China y Persia para ello; Egberto Gismonti (1947), más que una fusión de estilos, parece mostrar su propia libertad expresiva sin limitaciones convencionales, y Ronaldo Miranda (1948) añade su sólida experiencia en la música sinfónica y de cámara con una obra brillantísima, cuyo merecido reconocimiento lo inició Fabio Zanon al ponerla en circulación junto a su repertorio más virtuosístico.
El interés de las obras elegidas nos invita a disfrutar de este álbum de principio a fin. Pero la belleza del sonido de Thanos Mitsalas y su calidad interpretativa subyugan desde las primeras notas.
Jesús Saiz Huedo - SCHERZO Revista de música clásica (June 2025)
(Translation in English)
Thanos Mitsalas, whose impeccable professional career and experience as a specialist in the work of Sergio Assad support this work, offers us a fascinating album due to its magnificent performance and the subtle stylistic contrast of the selected works.
The four composers on the album represent artistic trajectories that, in one way or another, seek to cross stylistic boundaries. This is not unusual in Latin American composition, and the adjective in the subtitle itself may well connote a certain aesthetic hybridization.
Agustín Barrios (1885-1944) embraces the Western Classical-Romantic tradition, often drawing inspiration from popular music and local elements of his native Paraguay or others that may have caught his attention during his numerous travels across the continent. These four works are highly representative of his creative approach, both for the beautiful instrumental designs so effectively utilized and for the extraordinary melodic and harmonic mastery they display. The other three composers are Brazilian. The suggestive contrast between their styles seems to us to be a complete success. Sergio Assad (1952) poetically and musically explores ancient legends in his two works, transporting us to fictional times and spaces in China and Persia. Egberto Gismonti (1947), more than a fusion of styles, seems to show his own expressive freedom without conventional limitations, and Ronaldo Miranda (1948) adds his solid experience in symphonic and chamber music with a brilliant work, whose well-deserved recognition was initiated by Fabio Zanon when he put it into circulation alongside his most virtuosic repertoire.
The interest of the selected works invites us to enjoy this album from beginning to end. But the beauty of Thanos Mitsalas's sound and his performance captivate from the first notes.
Jesús Saiz Huedo - SCHERZO Revista de música clásica (June 2025)
This is a terrific CD. For one thing, Mitsalas is very much a world-class player, at the state of the art both in technique and musical skill. For another thing-and this alone should be dispositive in your acquisition of this album-there are world premieres of two fabulous new works by Sérgio Assad. Let me deal with these first.
On first listening to Sun Wukong's Toccata, I thought it must be a duet, or that Mr. Mitsalas has appendages other than the standard human. But upon close viewing of his performance on YouTube, that turned out to be wrong: Assad is clever enough as a composer, and Mitsalas is fine enough as a player to perform the piece with just the usual appendages. (Although a tuning fork plays a note at the end.) It is a brilliant work uniting exceptional virtuosity with passages of great delicacy.
The same can be said of the second Assad premiere, Barbad's Tale. Barbad was a Persian minstrel and poet from the late 6th/early 7th century C.E. He played (just to add a bit of confusion) the barbat, an early lute ancestor. Assad's work, like the earlier (c. 2006) duet Tahhiyya li Ossoulina, reflects the composer's Middle Eastern ancestry, exhibiting many characteristics of music from that region, including but not limited to frequent use of linear elements incorporating augmented-second intervals. It is a wonderful piece, though one with daunting technical challenges. Mitsalas's performance is astonishing.
As if the Assad pieces were not enough to demand acquisition of this disc, Mitsalas gives a wonderful rendition of Ronaldo Miranda's Apassionata and other works by Gismonti and Barrios. The last work on the album is the Paraguayan master's Las Abejas in which the bees in question seem very caffeinated. Splendid. Beautifully recorded quality and fine liner notes.
Al Kunze - Soundboard (March 2025)
Opening with a premiere CD recording of Brazilian Sergio Assad’s 'Sun Wukong's Toccata’, inspired by a Chinese mythological character, Greek guitarist Thanos Mitsalas handles the 8 contrasting sections with virtuosic deftness as he navigates the composer's very creative exploration of unusual guitar sounds, drawn from a deep well of lifelong experience with the instrument at the highest levels of music-making. This is dramatic music using contemporary language that is approachable and, in Mitsalas's capable hands, can be absorbed, understood, and enjoyed on first hearing.
Mitsalas plays Brazilian composer Ronaldo Miranda's 'Apassionata' with an intensity that befits the title, and with a fervency that can only be delivered by a performer with exceptional technique. Contrasted with two lyrical pieces by Egberto Gismonti, and a smoothly rippling tremolo in Augustin Barrios Mangore's well known `Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios', one understands that this performer is capable of a very wide range of expression. All of the above pieces prepare the listener for the central, most stunning work on the program-and the title track-Sergio Assad's Barbad's Fables. This piece is a technical powerhouse, brilliantly performed while calling to mind the Near-Eastern elements of some compositions of Carlo Domeniconi.
Recording quality is excellent, and liner notes by Dimitris Kotronakis are helpful. More spacing between tracks would be appropriate, especially when listeners need to catch their breath form hearing such vir-tuosic playing! The standard 3 seconds is just not enough, especially between major works; much more time than that is taken at concerts.
The program concludes with a set of 3 contrasting romantic works by Barrios. Mitsalas flies through 'Las Abejas' (The Bees) faster than anyone I have heard.
Mc Cutcheon - American Record Guide (March/April 2025)