Milán: El Maestro José Antonio Escobar

• Luys Milán (1500-1561): Fantasías de consonancias:
• 1 Fantasia No. 1 01:44
• 2 Fantasia No. 2 01:38
• 3 Fantasia No. 3 01:59
• 4 Fantasia No. 4 01:19
• 5 Fantasia No. 5 02:06
• 6 Fantasia No. 6 02:18
• 7 Fantasia No. 7 02:03
• 8 Fantasia No. 8 02:05
• 9 Fantasia No. 9 02:14
• Fantasías de consonancias y redobles:
• 10 Fantasia No. 10 03:12
• 11 Fantasia No. 11 03:01
• 12 Fantasia No. 12 02:31
• 13 Fantasia No. 13 01:45
• 14 Fantasia No. 14 01:23
• 15 Fantasia No. 15 03:24
• 16 Fantasia No. 16 02:49
• 17 Fantasia No. 17 02:37
• 18 Fantasia No. 18 03:12
• Fantasías de consonancias:
• 19 Fantasia No. 19 03:56
• 20 Fantasia No. 20 04:02
• 21 Fantasia No. 21 02:39
• 22 Fantasia No. 22 02:52
• 6 Pavanas:
• 23 Pavana No. 1 02:18
• 24 Pavana No. 2 02:40
• 25 Pavana No. 3 02:04
• 26 Pavana No. 4 02:04
• 27 Pavana No. 5 00:49
• 28 Pavana No. 6 01:23
• Total Runtime 01:06:07

Info for Milán: El Maestro

Although biographical details of his life remain sketchy, Luys Milán’s Libro de música de vihuela de mano intitulado El Maestro is certainly the oldest surviving printed collection of vihuela music. Tuned like the contemporary Renaissance lute, the Spanish vihuela is a guitar-shaped instrument and for it Milán wrote a series of compelling works including fantasias and pavans that maturely fused improvisatory and polyphonic elements. This recording presents all the solo vihuela pieces from the first book of El Maestro in the order in which they appear.

José Antonio Escobar is one of the most distinguished and versatile classical guitar soloists of his generation. He is especially known for the perfect balance he achieves between intense musical expression and a vast knowledge of various musical styles and periods. Under the influence of his first master, the lutenist Ernesto Quezada, he became deeply interested in early instruments of the guitar family, which led him to attend Early Music courses and masterclasses with renowned specialists such as Hopkinson Smith, Eduardo Egüez, and Juan Carlos Rivera. He has been awarded some fifteen prizes in leading international guitar competitions, and has a number of successful recordings to his credit.

„The Vihuela, the forerunner of today’s classical guitar, existed in the early 15th century, though the instrument’s first surviving music comes from Luys Milán. It was published in 1536 with the title Libro de música de vihuela de mano intitulado El Maestro, its layout at first suggesting a teaching manual of increasing difficulty, though the starting point would require a player well versed in the instrument. As we know few details of his life, their exact intentions will always be open to debate. The First Book contains twenty-eight works, set out in three groups of Fantasias followed by six Pavana. Most are quite short and require agility in both hands to add a decoration onto the basic melodic idea. As such they are attractive, never overstaying their welcome, and with sufficient change of character as to retain our interest. Further than that I would add that the playing of the Chilean-born, José Antonio Escobar, is spotlessly clean, his career to date centering on his reputation as an outstanding classical guitarist, who also has an interest in early instruments of the guitar family. So, with my apology to Escobar, who was wanting to bring the vihuela to our attention, I can only report that, as here recorded, you will take this to be a lightly-toned modern guitar disc revealing the beauty of Milán’s pieces.“ (David Denton, David's Review Corner)

José Antonio Escobar, classical guitar

José Antonio Escobar
born 1973 is one of the most distinguished and versatile classical guitar soloists of his generation worldwide, drawing attention through a perfect balance between his intense musical expression and his vast knowledge of the various musical styles and periods. He was born in Santiago de Chile where he studied at the Conservatory of Music-University of Chile under Ernesto Quezada, graduating with Top Honors (Summa cum Laude). He later received his graduate degree (Meisterklassendiplom), after obtaining a scholarship from the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Chile to study under Franz Halasz, at the Hochschule für Musik in Augsburg, Germany, where he also worked as an assistant professor. In order to complement his studies he took courses and master classes in ancient music with renowned lutenists such as Hopkinson Smith, Eduardo Egüez and Juan Carlos Rivera.

He has performed in more than 30 countries in almost all of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. He has also performed as a soloist with notable orchestras in Europe and South America, as well as at major concert venues. He has recorded several times for the well-known Naxos label, and also for RTVE (Spanish Radio and Television), and he has produced several independent recordings as well. Currently, he is frequently invited to perform and give master classes at major festivals, music seminars and at prestigious universities worldwide.

Booklet for Milán: El Maestro