Cristiano Porqueddu - Franco: Music for Guitar (2024)

Born in Torino in 1967, Alfredo Franco was involved in non-classical music in his youth before taking up the classical guitar. He then undertook advanced studies in the historical and critical fields in the Department for Art, Music and Theatre of the University of Turin. He would later abandon concert activity as a performer and focus instead on composition. His now prolific classical guitar output has been well received by important interpreters such as Cristiano Porqueddu and increasingly programmed on the stage and in the studio.

This triple-disc set constitutes a broad cross-section of Franco’s solo guitar music. Porqueddu has offered brief comments on some of the many, varied compositions that will be new to many listeners. A Bleached September Sky: multiple short episodes evoking sudden premonitions. A Night’s Tale features a rapid, edgy central section set between a dreamlike beginning and end. Alphabetical Portraits conceptually depicts seven composers by associating the letters in their surnames with notes of the chromatic scale. Inezie deliziose is a collection of miniature album leaves heralding the frivolity of an imaginary past. Fantasia No.7 contrapuntally pays homage to Renaissance vihuelists. Il flauto nel bosco – Omaggio a Grazia Deledda: a sonatina based on the Nobel Prize-winning Sardinian author’s renowned collection of short stories. La regina delle tenebre – Su un racconto di Grazia Deledda is inspired by an eponymous short story, again by the Sardinian author. La guitarra callada – Homage to Frederic Mompou seeks to convey the Catalan composer’s atmospheres. Quaderno di aprile is a minimalist diary, composed almost compulsively along a few days in April. Mirando un cuadro de Goya is one possible interpretation of the painter’s Pavo muerto. Microsuite is designed to provide an introduction to contemporary musical languages. Petite Suite mécanique honours three guitarists from different eras: Robert de Visée, Miguel Llobet and Leo Brouwer. Sette aforismi: short, sparse studies on timbre and colour. Sonatina autunnale sits somewhere between Manuel Ponce and Alfredo Casella. Sonatina estiva pays tribute to Carlo Carrà and his paintings of seaside shacks. Tarreghiana: a theme and variations based on Tárrega’s famous Prelude in A minor. Wintergarten is a farewell stroll in a Schumannesque winter garden, evoking chorales and with variations.

Tracklist
01 - A Bleached September Sky
02 - A Night's Tale
03 - A Short Elegy
04 - Alphabetical Portraits_ I. Sibelius
05 - Alphabetical Portraits_ II. Britten
06 - Alphabetical Portraits_ III. Shostakovich
07 - Alphabetical Portraits_ IV. Mompou
08 - Alphabetical Portraits_ V. Mosso
09 - Alphabetical Portraits_ VI. Casella
10 - Alphabetical Portraits_ VII. Martin
11 - Memories from the Black Lodge
12 - Fantasia No. 6
13 - Inezie Deliziose_ I. Adagio
14 - Inezie Deliziose_ II. Petite valse Oubliée
15 - Inezie Deliziose_ III. Adagietto
16 - Inezie Deliziose_ IV. Adagietto Vaporoso
17 - Inezie Deliziose_ V. Adagietto
18 - Inezie Deliziose_ VI. Petite valse Oubliée
19 - Inezie Deliziose_ VII. Adagio
20 - Inezie Deliziose_ VIII. Adagissimo
21 - Inezie Deliziose_ IX. Adagio Elegiaco
22 - Fantasia No. 7
23 - Il flauto nel bosco (Omaggio a Grazia Deledda)
24 - Impermanence - Tombeau for Charlie Watts
25 - La regina delle tenebre (Su un racconto di Grazia Deledda)
26 - La guitarra Callada
27 - Quaderno di Aprile
28 - Mirando un cuadro de Goya
29 - Isolation
30 - Microsuite
31 - Petite suite Mécanique
32 - 7 Preludes_ I. Adagio
33 - 7 Preludes_ II. Allegretto con Spirito
34 - 7 Preludes_ III. Cantabile
35 - 7 Preludes_ IV. Adagio
36 - 7 Preludes_ V. Un po' Grottesco
37 - 7 Preludes_ VI. Alla Rimembranza
38 - 7 Preludes_ VII. Vivo
39 - Sette Aforismi_ I. Disteso
40 - Sette Aforismi_ II. Leggero
41 - Sette Aforismi_ III. Etereo
42 - Sette Aforismi_ IV. Lento
43 - Sette Aforismi_ V. Leggero
44 - Sette Aforismi_ VI. Etereo
45 - Sette Aforismi_ VII. Disteso
46 - Sonatina Autunnale_ I. Andantino
47 - Sonatina Autunnale_ II. Larghetto
48 - Sonatina Autunnale_ III. Allegretto
49 - Sonatina Estiva_ I. Allegretto Leggero
50 - Sonatina Estiva_ II. Barcarola
51 - Sonatina Estiva_ III. Allegretto
52 - Tarreghiana
53 - Elegia
54 - Novembrina - The Anatomy of Melancholy
55 - Trittico del verso Agro_ I. Satura
56 - Trittico del verso Agro_ II. Recuerdos de Recuerdos
57 - Trittico del verso Agro_ III. Yeux
58 - Wintergarten