“Hence the title Home,” he said.ĭanza Brasilera, perhaps the most widely performed composition by prolific Argentinian-born composer Jorge Morel, who died in 2021, closed the show. Vieaux told the audience that he composed it between March and June of 2020 during the shutdown. While the A section sounds somewhat dreamy, the B section moves to the parallel minor and a cloudier character before the recap of A. In Vieaux ‘s own Home, the melody employs tremolo technique throughout on the upper strings. In contrast, he interpreted the contemplative “Julio Florida” with tenderness. 4” with a fitting lilt and played the run in the final two bars with bravura. Two compositions by Paraguayan Austín Barrios Mangoré have become staples of the repertoire. He spoke about his enthusiasm for performing it in the city where Metheny launched his career in the 1970s. Vieaux apparently invests in the music very emotionally. “Part 2” has a plaintive melody played in various registers of the guitar, supported by a brooding, Methenyesque harmonic accompaniment in a quasi bossa nova groove. Vieaux’s energy level never flagged throughout the challenging romp. “Part 1” gallops through odd time signatures riding an aggressive and insistent bass ostinato that moves through various tonal centers and ends abruptly with a dissonant chordal jab. Vieaux shared that he became friends with the jazz legend after the 2005 release of his Images of Metheny album, a solo guitar rendering of Metheny compositions. Vieaux began the second half with “Part 1” and “Part 2” from Four Paths of Light, a suite Pat Metheny penned for him. Vieaux punctuated the ending with a vigorous pizzicato chord. The final movement features an instantly appealing melody that appears three times surrounding two turbulent episodes. Vieaux’s dynamics outlined the mood changes of the first two movements that juxtapose energetic passages with serene ones. He then probed Brouwer’s dark, harp-like arpeggios and fragmentary melodic figures. Before commencing, Vieaux took a long pause, and bowed his head toward the floor. Dedicated to Sharon Isbin, the three-movement work bears the descriptive titles (translated from the Spanish): “The Warrior’s Harp,” “The Flight of the Lovers Through the Valley of Echoes,” and “The Maiden in Love.” African folk tales inspired the first two movements, the third was a product of Brouwer’s own imagination (according to the dedicatee). Vieaux described Leo Brouwer as one of the 20 th Century’s most important composers for the guitar and called out his El Decameron Negro as one of his greatest compositions for the instrument. He continued without pause into the Gigue, which he took at an easygoing tempo even though he possesses the technical capacity to fly in Bach’s fast movements. Vieaux imbued Minuets I and II with reserved rhythmic drive and shaped the bass lines with thoughtful articulations. The Sarabande came across as appropriately introspective. As he did throughout the suite, Vieaux added ornamentation in repeated sections. He dispatched rhythms of the Courante crisply and with unhurried tempo, yet he maintained plenty of momentum. The Allemande flowed at a relaxed pace and showcased the warm sonorities he educes on treble-string melodies. In the Prelude Vieaux gave notable push and pull of the tempo and dynamic and tone color changes. He offered a decidedly lyrical reading of the work’s six movements in D major-which he informed the crowd was a more guitar-friendly key for the suite. Vieaux began with a transcription of J.S.

offered glimmers of hope for music fans longing for live shows. Seeing him take the stage at the First Lutheran Church on Berkeley St. Aficionados had widely anticipated classical guitarist Jason Vieaux’s return to Boston as guest of the Boston Classical Guitar Society (BCGS) following an 11-year hiatus.

Classical guitar shed block chord