John W. Duarte (1919-2004)
Suite Anglaise n° 2, op. 77
Suite Ancienne, op. 47
Cancion y Danza, op. 117
Badinerie, op. 32a
Danserie n° 1, op. 71
Danserie n° 2, op. 87
Mutations, op. 58
Mutations, op. 58a
Sans Cesse, op. 34

The Belfort Guitar Duo

Antonio De Innocentis, guitare
Nicola Montella, guitare

Chimiste de formation, le compositeur et guitariste John Duarte (1919-2004) se consacre rapidement à la musique, encouragé par le père du guitariste John Williams. Il s'adonne à l'étude la guitare, joue dans des ensembles de jazz puis devient professeur à l'école espagnole de guitare à Londres. Il noue par la suite une longue amitié avec Andrès Segovia et fréquente le duo Alexandre Lagoya et Ida Presti, Il leur dédiera de nombreuses pièces. Le style musical de ses compositions est difficile à catégoriser, le compositeur s'inspirant avec une grande habileté d'une époque à une autre. Sa Suite Ancienne op. 47 découle du style renaissance d'un Dowland, Sa Suite Anglaise n° 2 reprend l'écriture contrapuntique de Bach tandis que ses Mutations op. 58 atteste d'une recherche de combinaisons aléatoires et d'harmonies dissonantes. Quelques Danses d'une grande délicatesse complètent ce joli programme partagé entre pièces en duo ou en solo. Le Duo Belfort Guitar Duo composé de Antonio de Innocentis et de Nicola Montella aborde ces partitions avec un bel enthousiasme. Une découverte. (Jérôme Angouillant)

For this first monographic recording of works by John Duarte for more than 20 years, the composer’s son, Christopher Duarte, along with the artists, selected repertoire spanning three decades, with a focus on pieces that were last recorded long ago or remained unrecorded. Opus 77 is the second in a total of seven English Suites, all for different instrumental combinations. Each movement uses an English folk song for its main thematic material. The result is a bright, sometimes sentimental, evocation of English country life. For the Suite Ancienne, a set of variations based on the ‘Première Bransle Gay’ in Pierre Phalèse’s Premier Livre de Danseries (1571), Duarte fashioned a Baroque Suite, minus the Allemande, drawing all thematic and harmonic material from Phalèse’s simple piece. Cancio´n y Danza was written as a compulsory competition piece and named in honour of Spanish pianist–composer Antonio Ruiz-Pipo´’s like-titled work. The slow Cancio´n displays a nostalgic and dramatic quality, whereas the fast Danza is almost ironic, capturing the spirit of Ruiz-Pipo´ without mimicry. The Badinerie was intended to be a movement in a large-scale, ultimately unfinished Suite franc¸aise. It was transcribed almost note-for-note for two guitars from the third movement of the Concertante Quartet Op.22 for guitar and string trio. The music is playful and full of intertwining melodic lines, with each guitar having equal responsibility for harmony and melody. Danserie No.1 is the first of four derived from the like-named collection of 1551 by Tielman Susato. Its three movements encompass disparate dance forms including an ‘Interrupted Polka’, a Galliard and a Piva (an Italian Renaissance dance). The second Danserie’s two movements reflect Latin dance types: the Tango and Tarantella. In Mutations, each movement is a microcosm of a composer’s style and place, with musical portraits of Dowland, Scarlatti, Haydn, Brahms, Albéniz, Charlie Parker and finally Duarte himself. Sans Cesse Op.34 was commissioned by Ida Presti, who wanted a piece “for an encore, and with lots of effects”. She sadly died one week before it was completed. The music, a true moto perpetuo, demands the utmost dexterity and coordination of the players.