...Following this concert, my visit suddenly took on an unexpected and incredible turn of events. We managed to arrange a meeting with the outstanding Argentine guitarist Cacho Tirao. He is not very well known in England. But in Argentina he is a sensation. He is one of the most amazing players that I have ever heard, and his arrangements and compositions are fantastic. Many, in fact almost all, of his works are unpublished, and it is only due to the very great skill of Chris Dumigan, who is able to listen to the records and then write out the music in notation, that I am able to play any of his arrangements at all. I have commissioned Chris to do about a dozen pieces for me, and although this is a very expensive way of obtaining the arrangements, if you love the music as much as I do, then it is well worth it! As for the accuracy of Chris' work, please do not just take my word for it - Cacho was amazed by the excellence of his work...

David Caswell

As well as composing a large amount of original music in various styles, Barrios, along with most of the players of his or indeed any age, made many transcriptions of music by other people. In many cases he recorded these transcriptions without there being any known manuscript copy extant. This large and very well produced edition collects together all the known recorded transcriptions made by Barrios of other composers' works, some guitarists, some not.

As such, it immediately recommends itself to anybody interested in the work of Barrios, especially those with a more analytical interest, whether or not they are interested in playing the pieces therein, It would for instance be very interesting and educational to listen to the recordings with a copy of this book to follow the playing - and to reflect on the large task that Dumigan undertook in taking these recordings down, note by note, including in many cases the specification of which higher positions to use.

Apart from the academic value present, the pieces here are all interesting and playable by those up to the higher - than - usual technical requirements of most of Barrios' own works. They are however very much of their time in style, and were recorded between 1914 and 1928.This style element is perhaps even more apparent than in the composer's original efforts, as though Barrios in making these versions of well - known music was working hard to present himself at a popular level. Or it may be that the selection of works is weighted toward that tendency.

These very popular items include two versions of Ay Ay Ay by Osman Perez Freire (for whom Barrios wrote the tango), La Paloma by Yradier, Marcha De San Lorenzo by Silva, Oro Y Playa Vals by Lehar, and Tarantella by Conceicao. There is also the greater seriousness of Bach - Bourrees I and II from BWV1009, Schumann's Traumerei, Beethoven - two versions of the Menuet from Op.20, some Sor, and Tarrega's Capricho Arabe, again in two versions. The differences between versions vary from the very large to the very tiny, and even academic hair-splitters may have a hard time finding anything to say about some of the smaller variants.

A great contribution to the Barrios scholarship.

Stephen Kenyon Classical Guitar Magazine June 2005