It’s a very wet morning. As an antidote, I’ve been listening to Rodrigo’s ravishing Concierto de Aranjuez. The composer said of this work that it contains “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains in the gardens of Aranjuez” and who’s to argue? The adagio is particularly evocative, so slow and modulated, the beautiful conversation between the horn and the guitar. I have a cd featuring Carlos Bonell on guitar with the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, conducted by Charles Dutoit, and it’s very fine. But I love Paco de Lucia’s recording too. Here’s a Youtube clip of him playing the adagio, a perfect thing to listen to in rain, longing for Spain and the fragrance of magnolias.
...Theresa Kishkan 