The title of the CD takes its name from one of the most well-known classical guitar pieces of all time, which here concludes the disc: Asturias by Albeniz. (Ironically, the piece was conceived for the piano, although the composer, it is often said, preferred many of his piano pieces to be played on the guitar, of which this is undoubtedly one.) The recent death of Yepes may have prompted this CD release, since most of the pieces are taken from recordings made during the 1960s and 70s in a 'best of' type of collection. The first half is largely music of the Spanish Renaissance and Baroque. It includes the most popular of the pieces originally written for the vihuela (a six-stringed guitar-like instrument) by composers such as Mudarra and Navarez, along with favourites such as Canarios by the Baroque guitarist, Gaspar Sanz. The Spanish vein is continued with the music by the later guitarist-composers Ferdinando Sor, Franciso Tarrega and the so-called nationalist musicians, Enrique Granados, Joaquin Turina and Isaac Albeniz. Therefore, the disc's appeal seems to lie mainly with those wanting a taster of the mainstream classical guitar repertoire or those after a summation of Yepes' career.

Due to the CD-Pluscore facility, there is much to recommend this disc to students of the guitar. This technology enables the listener not only to follow the score on a PC whilst the recording is played, but also provides editing facilities and supplementary information concerning the pieces, composers and the artist. The system clearly has potential as an educational tool in addition to the advantage of being able to print out the scores for personal use.

Yepes performs with assurance and vitality. Particularly impressive is the Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra) by Tarrega, which is made to sound as if it were played by two musicians, a melodist and an accompanist, rather than a solo guitarist. His ample technique is also shown off to good effect in Asturias, well known for its technical demands, rapid right-hand arpeggios and ostinatos. Yepes, however, takes this piece uncommonly fast and, as a result, some of the rhythmic subtleties are blurred, such as the dramatic shift from duplets to triplets in the opening section. One small criticism of the playing is that a number of items on the CD suffer from less than perfect intonation.

The sleeve notes give a brief overview of the development of the guitar and guitar-related instruments, and the changes in musical styles over the centuries. Since Yepes was distinguished as a concert guitarist by the fact that he played a ten-string instrument, it would have been interesting to be provided with information concerning this, comparing the design and sound-quality with the standard six-string guitar.

The combination of strong playing, a good choice of repertoire and the CD-Pluscore facility makes this disc an enjoyable and versatile study tool.

Matthew Nisbet