As a teacher of piano, theory and composition at the conservatoire in Valencia, Vicente Asencio (1908-1979) played an instrumental part in the success of Narciso Yepes and countless other influential Spanish musicians in the middle of the 20th century. His role as a teacher has unfairly overshadowed his own creative output, which now justly takes the spotlight in the talented hands of the Italian guitarist Alberto Mesirca. Asencio's output for guitar has previously been investigated on record, including by the young Elise Neumann on Brilliant Classics (BC9287) but this is the first-ever album dedicated to his guitar music. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his established reputation as a teacher, it reveals a composer of considerable craft and fluency, entirely at home in his adopted medium. Valencian born and bred, Asencio composed a Suite of Homages that became a calling-card for Yepes and other Spanish guitarists looking to play music of their own era that had something distinctive to say about modern Spain to an international audience. In turn, the homages pay tribute to Scarlatti, de Falla and Lorca, and between them they sum up the ingredients of Asencio's style: the ruminative grace of the Sonatina, the evocative melancholy of the Elegia, and the fiery sensuality of the Tango. Dating from 1965, Collectici Ãntim was a second commission from Yepes, a character suite of portraits in the manner of the personalities so wittily drawn by Couperin in his keyboard pieces. Suite mistica derives from a piece commissioned by Spanish radio to mark Holy Week in 1971. Andres Segovia was taken with the work, Dipso ('I thirst' - one of the Seven Last Words) that he asked Asencio for two companion pieces, which were written on the subject of the Agony in the Garden and then the rushing wind of Pentecost. Finally, from 1971, there is Asencio's masterpiece for the guitar, the Suite Valenciana in which he celebrates his own cultural heritage.

Tracklist:

Collectici Íntim: I. La Serener
Collectici Íntim: II. La Joia
Collectici Íntim: III. La Calma
Collectici Íntim: IV. La Gaubança
Collectici Íntim: V. La Frisança
Cançó D'hivern
Suite De Homenajes: I. Sonatina A Domenico Scarlatti
Suite De Homenajes: II. Elegía A Manuel De Falla
Suite De Homenajes: III. Tango De La Casada Infiel A Federico García Lorca
Suite Valenciana: I. Preludi
Suite Valenciana: II. Cançoneta
Suite Valenciana: III. Dansa
Danza Valenciana
Suite Mistica: I. Getsémani
Suite Mistica: II. Dipsô
Suite Mistica: III. Pentecostés

UPC: 5028421958064
Label: Brilliant Classics
Release Date: 2.7.20
Format: CD

Asencio / Mesirca - Complete Guitar Music (CD)