Fletcher’s new guitar classics

Classical guitarist Peter Fletcher’s latest CD, Suite Compostelana, Canciones y Danzas, features his own transcriptions of pieces written for piano by 20th- century Spanish composer Federico Mompou. While Mompou is unfamiliar to many, Fletcher hopes to change that.

“His music has little in common with any other composer, which makes his art totally unique,” Fletcher says. “It is sometimes tinged with sadness, sometimes joyful, but always very intense.”?

The opening “Suite Compostelana” is classically Spanish, both in its written form and as played on album — refined and stately, evocative throughout, dynamically brilliant and culminating in a resounding tour de force. Fletcher first encountered Mompou’s music as a student in 1980, and first worked on “Suite Compostelana” in high school. But it took two years to prepare all the guitar transcriptions for release. In completing them, Fletcher has further expanded the somewhat limited repertoire for classical guitar.?

“I am trying to expand the repertoire by finding new, high-quality music that has not been played on guitar — music that I think sounds good on the guitar,” Fletcher says.?

In addition to a healthy dose of Mompou, Fletcher’s CD release recital this weekend includes works by Dowland, Albeniz, Villa-Lobos, Domeniconi and the subject of Fletcher’s next CD project, Eric Satie.?

“I hope I can bring a little freshness to the music I play, and not just play what everyone else plays,” says Fletcher. “I simply try to re-create the spirit of the music on guitar.”



Peter Fletcher performs at 4 p.m., Sun., Oct. 13, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Decatur.