The Great Rey De La Torre
I just discovered this recording of Rey De La Torre and it was a revelation.
I had mentioned elsewhere that I don’t listen to classical guitarists any more, at least not since the technicians and the ‘tone-meisters’ took over.
Rey De La Torre’s recording hacks back to a time when the guitar was still full of poetry and mystery.
Listen to El Testamen, the fluid phrasing and the singing line.
Listen especially to the accompaniment—there’s a beautiful lilt in the rhythm. That’s because he plays it in a one-feel as opposed to a three-feel.
You will notice there is none of the persistent insistence on the metrical beat.
His playing if full of rubato, but if you conduct to it, you’ll find that the pulse is always there.
That is the true art of phrasing.
As I said, there’s no great skill in playing in time, all you need is a metronome, but to play with poetry, that’s a whole other thing.
The rest of the recording is equally amazing in its lyricism and poetry. My thanks to the uploader Serioso Serioso for making this recording available.