Album

Four Mexican guitar concertos—actually, three bona fide concertos and one arrangement of pieces featuring solo guitar—constitute this 2004 album by guitarist Juan Carlos Laguna and Conjunto de Cámara de la Ciudad de México, conducted by Benjamín Juárez Echenique and Manuel de Elías. Because this is fairly relaxing music with relatively few dramatic or disturbing passages and only the mildest touches of dissonance, this CD may be discounted by some as bland wallpaper music. Laguna's taste is surely reflected in the genial selections, and it seems that he prefers to play quiet, meditative music rather than engage in all-out virtuosic displays. Silvestre Revueltas' Cinco canciones para niños—originally composed as songs for voice and piano—are decidedly calm and limpid, and Samuel Zyman's Concerto for guitar and strings is similarly inclined toward gentle, lyrical expressions. Neither work is a showstopper, and Laguna's abilities are not seriously taxed. Leonardo Coral's Guitar Concerto offers Laguna many opportunities for colorful interactions with the woodwinds, and lets the guitar weave in and out of the ensemble's textures. Jorge Ritter's Fantasía Concertante is the most assertively modernist piece, and tends more toward virtuosity, particularly in its finale; yet, even here, the overall tone is quite subdued, and the modest scale of the work minimizes its impact. Urtext's sound is clear and vibrant, but artificially boosted.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1
Silvestre Revueltas Composer Cinco Canciones para Niños y Dos Canciones Profanas (7), song cycle for voice & chamber orchestra Work 16:06 Juan Carlos Laguna Guitar, Benjamín Juárez Echenique Director, Manuel Elias Director, Mexico City Camerata Ensemble
1	1.El caballito	2:15			$0.99
2	2.Las cinco horas	0:30			$0.99
3	3.Canción de cuna	1:18			$0.99
4	4.Canción de cuna	9:47			$1.49
5	5.El lagarto	2:16			$0.99
Samuel Zyman Composer Concerto for guitar & string orchestra Work 26:06 Juan Carlos Laguna Guitar, Benjamín Juárez Echenique Director, Mexico City Camerata Ensemble
6	1.Allegro	10:56			$1.99
7	2.Andante	7:34			$1.49
8	3.Agitato	7:36			$1.49
Leonardo Coral Composer Guitar Concerto Work 19:08 Juan Carlos Laguna Guitar, Benjamín Juárez Echenique Director, Mexico City Camerata Ensemble
9	1.Preludio	2:19			$0.99
10	2.Scherzo	5:16			$0.99
11	3.Andante expresivo	3:27			$0.99
12	4.Allegro con brio	8:06			$1.49
Jorge Ritter Composer Fantasía Concertante, concerto for guitar & orchestra Work 15:01 Juan Carlos Laguna Guitar, Benjamín Juárez Echenique Director, Mexico City Camerata Ensemble
13	1.Lentamente	2:20			$0.99
14	2.Allegretto	2:41			$0.99
15	3.Adagio	3:18			$0.99
16	4.Allegro	6:42			$0.99