Oeuvres orchestrales pour quatuor de guitares

But to my surprise this is a spectacular recording full of character and virtuosity. The sound clips above give a good impression but leave out my favorite parts of the recording so just a few word about some of the special moments:
Aleksandr Borodin (1833-1887): The Russian! The Polovtsian Dances have some amazing moments. I was literally shocked at how affective some of the sound effects were (all natural produced). Blazing scales, intense balalaika tones, golpe's that sound structurally dangerous to guitars, and more!
Patrick Roux (b.1962): Concerto Episodique. Those of you that have only heard the lighter/whimsical side of Roux's works such as Carnaval will be impressed with this major composition of depth, colour, and scope. There are some impressively complex textures to deal with in this work that the quartet plays them with ease and intelligence. Movement IV - Destin - of Concerto Épisodique is truly amazing, I'm not sure I've heard a guitar ensemble play something this virtuosic and still be so together rhythmically. The accented shots from the accompaniment are just damn impressive! I'm telling you, I have a lot of quartet recordings and this is very impressive. I bet there are some good stories about recording this track!

Conclusion:
One of the best guitar quartet recordings I've had the pleasure to hear! The virtuosity is ultra high and the ensemble is tighter than ever. Combine that with a quality recording job and great arrangements and you've got a must-have recording for your christmas list!
The recording is very accessible for all listeners. Amateur guitarist's looking to hear a professional group will get to hear them pull out all the stops. The professionals out there will take interest in the arrangements and the very well crafted musical ideas, shaping, and rhythmic togetherness of the ensemble.
Complaints? Well, the repertoire is not always my cup of tea but I did enjoy listening to it and I listened to every minute of it a few times. I rarely listen to entire CD's of guitar music but I was so impressed by this one that I just couldn't turn it off. I liked the Roux piece which gives the recording something a bit more compositionally interesting for the listener to contemplate.
On a personal note: I sometime forget how amazing an instrument we play. Arrangements are one place where large contrasts in tone colour and articulations can be used to create an auditory experience of great interest. The Canadian Guitar Quartet represents some of the best playing Canada has to offer and once you hear them you'll place them at par with any first rate professional ensemble of any instrumentation. Plus, thank goodness, they know how to have some fun - there must have been some smiles when recording that Hoe-Down!
Bradford Werner (Classical guitar Canada)