Alfonsina y el mar

(aussi disponible en version pour 4 guitares - DZ 930)

I have had the pleasure of reviewing more than one arrangement of this fabulous tune, Alfonso Montes comes to mind, and now have the pleasure of reviewing the daddy of them all. That's if one regards Roland Dyens in the term of «Daddy«; in this vernacular sense when it comes to «arranging« I would profess that he most surely is.
A little background to the piece: It is a dedication, written by the composer in 1939, to one of Argentina's most loved poets of the 20th century, Alfonsina Carolina Storni (1892-1938). She had by all accounts a fairly traumatic life, physically from cancer and emotionally from painful love affairs (surely grist to the mill for a poet). This culminated in her eventual suicide on 25th of October 1938, at La Perla Beach, Mar del Plata, where she walked into the ocean and drowned herself. A large granite monument was erected in her honour there, four years later. Ramirez wrote the tune with lyrics by Felix Luna. No singing is involved in this arrangement.
Those familiar with Dyens's arrangements will expect a scordatura of some sort; Dyens doesn't disappoint here. This famous Libran never uses an alternative tuning for the sake of it; the B minor sound world of Alfonsina is intimately captured by having the low E tuned to D and the A string to B. The crisp ringing of the open B gives the music a steely clarity not felt in other arrangements. As usual Dyens gives precise instructions on how to avoid extraneous noises from string squeaks etc., which he quite obviously detests. The song is a zamba, a slow dance in 6/8 with a tricky break in the middle of a bar or phrase. This «click«, percussively played on the 5th or 6th string or both, is so typical of the Argentine style of playing that it is essential to hear it played properly. Juan Falu and Jorge Cardoso are master exponents that should be listened to in this respect. The directions are extensive but not prohibitive. Those unfamiliar with Dyens's high standards will be presented with a challenge but follow these instructions and the rewards will be great. This, played weIl, would be a beautiful encore.
Congratulations to d'OZ for this production; exemplary in every way; a superior arrangement to all before it.
Highly recommended.
Tim Panting (Classical Guitar Magazine)