"Contrapuntal cycles for the guitar (whether solo or duet) are rare but not unheard of. Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote 24 preludes and fugues for guitar duet in the 1960s. Igor Rekhin composed a solo cycle in the later 1980s. Paradoxically it seems only in the 21st century that we've had guitarists taking up the challenge of writing polyphonic cycles but better late than never.

We guitarists too often assume that B flat minor is too unwieldy a key to write in and not worth the struggle. In a post-tonal century why bother writing fugues for guitar in keys like C minor and D flat major? Because it's fun! I drew inspiration from composers ranging across the Western tradition such as Byrd, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, Bartok, Hindemith, Shostakovich, Messiaen and Ellington."

Artwork courtesy of Giampaolo Macorig on Flickr http://tinyurl.com/zp6fg94

1. Prelude in C sharp minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
2. Fugue in C Sharp minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
3. Prelude in E Flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
4. Fugue in E Flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
5. Prelude in C Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
6. Fugue in C Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
7. Prelude in F Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
8. Fugue in F Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
9. Prelude in E Flat Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
10. Fugue in E Flat Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
11. Prelude in G Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
12. Fugue in G Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
13. Prelude in F Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
14. Fugue in F Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
15. Prelude in E Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
16. Fugue in E Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
17. Prelude in F Sharp Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
18. Fugue in F Sharp Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
19. Prelude in E Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
20. Fugue in E Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
21. Prelude in D Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
22. Fugue in D Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
23. Prelude in D Flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
24. Fugue in D Flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
25. Prelude in C Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
26. Fugue in C Major (Jeremiah Lawson)

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 08/23/2016
Daniel Estrem lives in Minnesota USA

Tagged as: Classical, Contemporary, Instrumental, Composer: Jeremiah Lawson, Classical Guitar

1. Patrons of the Lute by Daniel Shoskes: A feast of Baroque lute
2. Toccata - Touched by Alex McCartney: Reflective, historically-informed performance on the lute
3. Weiss Undercover by Daniel Shoskes: A feast of Baroque lute
4. Elizabeth's Lutes by Alex McCartney: Reflective, historically-informed performance on the lute
5. La Superbe by Thomas Walker: Lute music of 17th century France and Italy
6. Versailles et Dresde les Cours du Roi Luth by Mauricio Buraglia: a marvelous classical spiral of lute sounds
7. Luis Milan - El Maestro by Edward Martin: vihuela, renaissance and baroque lute
8. Orpheus by Federico Moscogiuri: Original and evocative lute music
9. The Siena Manuscript on renaissance lute by Paul Berget: renaissance lute, modernized.
10. Les Plaintes de Psyche by Mauricio Buraglia: a marvelous classical spiral of lute sounds
11. Grounds for Pleasure by Colin Booth: solo harpsichord music
12. David Popper, 40 Etudes Op 73 by Vito Paternoster: cellist extraordinaire
13. FP Tosti, Italian Songs on the Poems of Gabriele D'Annunzio (vocals removed) by Valter Carignano and Michela Varda: Italian songs on poems of Gabriele D'Annunzio
14. Airs De Cour Francais Du XVIIe Siecle (vocals removed) by Trio Dafne: delicate 17th century chansons
15. Litha (vocals removed) by Skarazula: medieval European, Turkish and Arabic music
16. Cantica (vocals removed) by La Reverie: Recreating traditional music from a modern perspective
17. David Popper, 40 Etudes Op 73 (vocals removed) by Vito Paternoster: cellist extraordinaire
18. Goode Christemas Musicke (vocals removed) by Stephane Potvin and the Con Brio Choir: choral conductor extraordinaire

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