A Record a Week: Paul Bernard - Spanish Guitar

SIDE 1.
VALS VENESOLANA II (Antonio Lauro)
CASTILLO DE ESPANA[Castles of Spain] (Federico Moreno Torroba)
i) Turegano
ii) Torija
iii) Manzanares de Real
iv) Romance de los Pinos
v) Siguenza (The Sleeping Child)
vi) Alba de Tormes
VALS VENESOLANO III (Antonio Lauro)

SIDE 2.
PRELUDE NO. I (Heitor Villa-Lobos)
PRELUDE NO. II (Heitor Villa-Lobos)
CAPICHO ARABE (Fransisco Tarrega)
RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA (Fransisco Terrega)

My experience with Spanish guitar music is mainly limited to the music played while you get a massage, some elevator music and a kid in my guitar class that played the chromatic scale in less than 5 seconds.

This is no Muzak though; and it's also not Adrijan Jahjaefendic, formerly of Burlington Central High School, either.

Hailing from PEI, Bernard taught himself guitar at the age of 9. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and later at the Royal College of Music in London.

The music on this album is played with a beautiful precision and a great talent. Although the songs are not originals by Bernard, he plays them as if they are an extension of himself. The way his hands flow over the guitar is quite impressive.

There was a moment where one song ended and just as that happened, my furnace turned on and the hiss of the air sounded like cheering, so clearly my house enjoys this record as well.