A collection of transcriptions

The well-known guitarist David Russell described José Tomás (1934-2001) from the Spanish coastal town of Alicante as the most influential guitar teacher of the late 20th century. Tomás was not only a gifted guitarist and teacher, but also a diligent arranger of Renaissance, Baroque and other music. Pedro Jesús Gómez, like Russell a former student of Tomás, has now published a carefully compiled collection of transcriptions by the Iberian maestro with Editions Chanterelle.

The first focus is on 16th and 17th century lute music, with John Dowland featuring particularly prominently. With Couperin and Purcell it is then the harpsichord, with Bach's E minor suite BWV 996 the legendary lute piano, which is played on the guitar strings. From Haydn to the 20th century, there is arranged piano music by "classics" of the guitar repertoire such as Albéniz and Granados, but also by other greats of the (late) Romantic period such as Tchaikovsky and Ravel.

Tomás played mainly on an eight-string Ramirez guitar made especially for him, with which he could also play the low notes of a polychoral Renaissance or Baroque lute. His arrangements were also tailored to this instrument. Editor Gómez meticulously documents deviations from Tomás' manuscripts. In most of the pieces, one string is retuned (F sharp instead of G, D instead of E, even G instead of A). There are practically no gaps in the fingerings. The commentary is in English and Spanish. Anyone who enjoys interpreting lute and piano music on the guitar will be well served by this anthology.

The José Tomás Guitar Anthology, Arrangements for Guitar solo by José Tomás, ed. by Pedro Jesús Gómez, ECH 2725, € 22.50, Editions Chanterelle (Schott), Mainz