Friday, August 7, 2026

Today's Listening: a stunning Zapateado

 


I don't know who John Davisson is, but this is about the finest recording of Rodrigo's Zapateado that I have heard.

UPDATE: as a bonus, here he is playing Yamashita's transcription of Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition and making it sound almost like guitar music.


Sorry, just the first two sections.


9 comments:

Shantanu said...

Hi Bryan. You might remember me as a commentor from way back circa 2014. I was a regular reader of your blog back then, but visited today after very long for an entirely self-oriented purpose.

I have been learning guitar and piano over the last few years. Been composing. So today I came here to share a composition with you.

Here it is: https://youtu.be/9CCXgcGcuTY?si=bptAdbpyrpy4iwr1

Tell me what you think :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Bryan - thank you for sharing! I happen to be looking for a Robert Holroyd…do you still happen to have yours? If so and you’re open to parting with it, I would be very interested! Jeremy

Bryan Townsend said...

Hello Shantung! Welcome back. It has been a very long time and I don't post very much these days. I am delighted you have been pursuing music. I would be happy to listen to your composition. Give me a few days as I will likely want to hear it a few times.

Hi Jeremy. You write at an appropriate time. I am finding, due to health reasons and a few other things, that I am unable to spend much time with the guitar these days. And it is a shame that such a fine guitar is underutilized. Yes, I would be open to this discussion. Where are you located? Because I'm sure you want to see and play the guitar first. It is a 1983 Robert Holroyd, made in Vancouver with a high-altitude spruce top. This is #24 of the 27 guitars he built before his premature death. It has been completely refurbished once with new frets, tuning pegs, varnish, etc and had a few minor repairs as well. It plays wonderfully!

Bryan Townsend said...

Shantanu, my apologies. Spell correct mangled your name!!

Bryan Townsend said...

Jeremy, let's move the discussion to my personal email: bryantownQgmail.com

Bryan Townsend said...

I mean, bryantown@gmail.com

Shantanu Goyal said...

Hello Bryan. Did you happen to listen to it? Thanks :)

Bryan Townsend said...

Shantanu, I am ashamed to say that I have not--somehow I got sidetracked and didn't listen to your piece. I promise to do that very soon and will comment. Sorry!!

Bryan Townsend said...

Hi Shantanu. Again, I apologize for taking so long to listen to your piece. It is quite charming! One thing, there is a very loud hum that makes it hard to hear the music. Could you record it again without the hum? It sounds as if there is a problem with the ground. Schoenberg used to analyze his music after having written it. That is an interesting exercise you might try. Look at how long the phrases are, analyse the harmony, etc.