SOFIA

Recording Boccherini

In Bulgaria, a man with a flashy smile comes to meet me in my dressing room after a concert. His name is Dimo Dimov, the head violinist in the Bulgarian Quartet (he would go on to become his country's Minister of Culture).

- Are you familiar with Boccherini's quintets?

Of course I am. They consist of six scrumptious guitar works, which the author created as an homage to his protector/defender in Madrid, the Marquis of Bonavente, who was known to occasionally pick up a guitar himself. An investigation which lasted nearly 200 years would be needed to authenticate them, via a chain of musicologists and awestruck guitarists. In the last century, these included a tax inspector (Louis Picquot), and an officer of Napoleon (François de Fossa - himself the author of many guitar works). More recently, musicologists (such as Yves Gérard and Matanya Ophee) compared handwritten letters found in Perpignan and notes found on a music score located in Washington, which enabled them to finally authenticate the six quintets.

- We could release them as a series of records, he suggested. It would be the first time!

- Agreed.

One year of preparation and a lot of work would be needed, because the guitar part is no picnic. We decide to pursue this project in Sofia's "Bulgaria" room. Working with a group is completely different from anything I'd experienced in the past. Improvisations are out, and careful, meticulous decisions, after much deliberation on the part of our small group, are in. We study and analyse the impact of every phrase, every measure, and every note according to the work's general context, the nature of each instrument, and the contemporary elements which need to be integrated into a classic work. My four companions have already recorded 70 albums. They live and work together. They understand one another immediately. A quarter-century of shared experiences has made them an extremely tight-knit group. I tip my hat to their perseverance and dedication.

We record at night, after the concerts.

22.00: We practice some of the work's excerpts in order to make technical adjustments. This is because the acoustics are no longer the same as they were yesterday, for several reasons: the nature of the concert which has just ended, of the audience, the humidity, the temperature...

23.00: Tuning of the instruments. The slightest off-key note is not to be tolerated. However, by the time the fifth instrument is in tune, the first one is already out of tune again.

23.30: We practice the upcoming movement, review the key points agreed to during that morning's "conference", assess the overall cohesion as well as the first creeping signs of nervousness and anxiety

Midnight: Three "takes". With each error, inaccuracy, or failure to abide by the group's decisions, the culprit contemplates the bow of his instrument (or his fingers!) with a vacant, confused expression on his face. The others, meanwhile, stare at the gold mouldings on the ceiling: making the culprit nervous must be avoided. On the third attempt, everything goes well. One can really feel the music flowing. When we reach the back page, a brief da capo signal indicates that we've got to go back to the first phrase before finishing.

However, I'm so caught up in the music that I don't notice it; as a result, while my partners are proceeding with a lively "accelerando", I begin to play in "ritardando", much to everyone's dismay...Dimo jumps out of his seat and runs straight to the backstage area to vent his frustration. The second violinist calmly prepares to take it from the top. The violist, who made the same mistake the day before, puts his hands on his hips. The cellist, more pragmatic than the others, ties his shoelace.

1.15: - Since we've got to start over again, Dimo calmly tells us, I'm going to play my part in "spiccato" style
That's too bad, seeing as I had taken advantage of these distractions to sneak my way closer to the microphone, so that the guitar would be more present on the recording.

1.45: - The set is good, but I notice that when playing "spiccato", the tempo has to have more brio. Let's take this movement from the top, once again. The cellist calmly puts his instrument back in its case and leaves the room without saying a word.

And we have to record thirty movements.

*******

The quintet: the five fingers of the same hand

The "Fandango" of the 4th quintet puzzles us: its repetitions make it seem rather long. There's no doubt that its Spanish colour, its accents, and the repeated syncopations which sound the same result in a pulsating dance which doesn't want to end. The Fandango, such as it was described by Casanova while he was in Madrid, was a way to let the pressure go, in a world of straight and tightened morals: "It's almost impossible to describe the Fandango: each part reveals a thousand facets and nuances, and a thousand lascivious gestures beyond compare. It is an declaration of love, from the beginning to the end, from sighs to sheer ecstasy. After such a dance, I very much doubt that a woman dancer could have refused the advances of her partner". Provocative words indeed, considering that they were said at the height of the Inquisition!

We hold a "conference" to discuss the length the movement. Some feel that, musically-speaking, repetitiveness is useless. Others, on the other hand, feel that the work's title, not to mention history, entices the listener to imagine Casanova at a ballroom dance, and to savour the work's erotic overtones. The answer is clear: play the long version and make the pleasure last.

Music doesn't need visual imagery, Dimo protests.

To baptize a work it is to demystify and distort it. He's right, but is obliged to accept the majority decision: by clarifying the title, we shall guide and "connect" the listener, who shall then enter a state of complete lasciviousness. He will undoubtedly prefer the long version.

These recording sessions took one month to complete. Although there was no audience, all of us felt the excitement of the piece, and injected our own emotional perceptions and reactions into it. Five soloists, all seeking for unity. We are all hitched to the same instrument. Five fingers of the same hand.