Riccardo D'Alo & Lorenzo Micheli Pucci - Porqueddu: The Impressionistic Guitar (2024)

The first disc in this two-CD set contains Sardinian composer Cristiano Porqueddu’s first three sonatas for solo guitar, written between 2013 and 2019 and performed here by his compatriot Riccardo D’Alò. ‘Des couleurs sur la toile’, in three movements, pays homage to the painter Gesuino Curreli, the composer’s maternal uncle, who paints landscapes of contemporary Oliena, a town in northern Sardinia. ‘Sonata di Picerno’ – completed in 2015 and dedicated to Italian guitarist Christian Saggese – is a musical portrait of the distinctive town of Picerno in the beautiful Basilicata region of Italy. All three of its movements narrate an entirely fictional leyenda (legend). Sonata No.3, ‘Il rito del fuoco’, is based on an ancient Sardinian legend that tells of Saint Anthony and his pig stealing fire from hell to give to humanity. It is a cyclical composition, which remains anchored in the harmonic and thematic elements introduced in the first section throughout.

The recordings on disc two – performed by Lorenzo Micheli Pucci, a guitarist from Piedmont in northern Italy – were written by Porqueddu between 2011 and 2020. Díptico de la oscuridad is a homage to Pablo Neruda’s poetic atmospheres and is dedicated to Italo-Australian guitarist Ermanno Brignolo. Metamórfosis de la soledad, dedicated to Italian guitarist Alberto Mesirca, stems directly from observing the artistic solitude glimpsed by the composer in artwork by Gastone Cecconello on a personal visit to his studio. It takes the form of a series of short movements based on Angelo Gilardino’s study ‘Soledad’ from his collection Studi di Virtuosità e di Trascendenza. These movements offer a prismatic vision of the material from the introduction to the study, heavily abridged to allow it to be used as a theme for a cycle of variations. In 2019 and 2020, Porqueddu’s figurative art studies led him to discover the wonderful ancient Chinese artwork Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, a set of eight parchments dating from the Song Dynasty, approximately 1150 AD. Porqueddu wrote the solo Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang while studying Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s 21 Greeting Cards for guitar. They are built on clearly identifiable melodic sketches, and alternate between demanding technical skill and a capacity for introspection from the performer.

Tracklist
01. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 1, des couleurs sur la Toile- I. Les fleurs Imaginaires
02. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 1, des couleurs sur la Toile- II. Chanson au Crépuscule
03. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 1, des couleurs sur la Toile- III. La terre des Lumières
04. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 2, sonata di Picerno- I. Racconti dal li Foj
05. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 2, sonata di Picerno- II. I monti Blu
06. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 2, sonata di Picerno- III. Campane a Festa
07. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 3, Il rito del Fuoco- I. Allegro Fantastico
08. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 3, Il rito del Fuoco- II. Adagio Incantato
09. Porqueddu- Sonata No. 3, Il rito del Fuoco- III. Mosso Misterioso
10. Porqueddu- Diptico de la Oscuridad- I. El lejano Tañido
11. Porqueddu- Diptico de la Oscuridad- II. La mañana llena de Tempestad
12. Porqueddu- Metamorfosis de la Soledad- I. Grave
13. Porqueddu- Metamorfosis de la Soledad- II. Allegro non Troppo
14. Porqueddu- Metamorfosis de la Soledad- III. Come una Canzone
15. Porqueddu- Metamorfosis de la Soledad- IV. Adagio
16. Porqueddu- Metamorfosis de la Soledad- V. Andantino con grazia e Tema
17. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- I. The Snow in the Evening on the Xiang River
18. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- II. The Rain at Night on the Xiaoxiang
19. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- III. The Wild Geese Coming Home
20. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- IV. The Evening Gong at Qingliang Temple
21. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- V. The Temple in the Mountain
22. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- VI. The Fishing Village in the Evening Glow
23. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- VII. The Moon in Autumn on Dongting Lake
24. Porqueddu- Studies from Eight Views from Xiaoxiang- VIII. The Sailing Ship Returning Home