Album Notes

Siesta in Catalonia. A nap in the early afternoon as a respite from the hot, humid Mediterranean summers. This was the climate and culture into which composer/guitarist Miguel Llobet was born in 1878 and where he lived until his death at the age of 59. Throughout his life he was immersed in the unique, rich folk traditions of this northeast region of Spain, a region which shares history and language with parts of France, Andorra, and Sardinia. Ritual dances and poetic ballads on romantic legendary themes are a vital part of the Catalonian cultural heritage.

Nirit Ziv-Wexler received her MM degree from Yale School of Music, where she studied with Benjamin Verdery, and her B.Mus degree from The Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied with Joseph Yerushalmi. She had also studied and performed in a master class forum with John Williams, David Russell, Oscar Guiglia, Eliot Fisk, and Sharon Isbin.
Winning numerous awards including from the America-Israeli cultural foundation, Nirit is also an active solo, and chamber music performer. She appeared in concerts throughout the US, Europe, and the Middle East. She also performed on Israeli national TV, The Yechiam Renaissance Festival, and Guitar Extravaganza at Yale.

The idea for this recording began to take shape seven years ago, when Nirit read the scores of Llobet's folk songs for the first time. The attraction was immediate. She had always loved the simple, compelling, time-tested character of folk songs, and found this personified in Llobet's arrangements. Ziv-Wexler realized that by building the recording around Llobet the arranger, instead of Llobet the composer, she could also include ensemble music. It was during her research into Llobet's duet arrangements that she homed in on Albeniz and his beautiful Spanish themes. Llobet's Sor variations completed the collection. Ironically, it was only years later, when Ziv-Wexler was examining biographies of Albeniz and Sor, that she realized they shared a Catalonian birthright with Llobet.

The Liner notes for this CD were written by Jim Tosone - Contributing Editor and Staff Reviewer for Guitar Review Magazine, and Author of Classical Guitarists: Conversations.They can be viewed in full at www.jimtosone.com