Guitarist Costin Soare presents a Renaissance music recital entitled "Songs, Fancies and Dances" this evening at 5:00 PM at the County Museum of Art in Ploiești, and tomorrow at 6:00 PM at Suțu Palace in Bucharest.

In the recital titled "Songs, Fancies and Dances," which you will present this evening in Ploiești and tomorrow in Bucharest, you invite the audience to a musical exploration of the Renaissance through the sound of the guitar. How did the idea for this recital come about?

The idea for the recital was born, first of all, from a personal affinity for this music. I have been passionate since my teenage years about the sound world of this repertoire and about the instruments associated with it. At some point I decided to gather, so to speak, a bouquet of works from that era, pieces originally dedicated, of course, to the lute or the vihuela, the plucked string instruments of the time. I am presenting them today to the audience in Ploiești and tomorrow in Bucharest.

Tell us about the program of the recital.

As the title suggests, it is about "Songs, Fancies and Dances." The title brings together the most important genres of that period. On the one hand we have, for example, the fancies-virtuosic works that were initially improvisatory pieces, but over time, inspired by the motet for instance, they became increasingly structured, especially in their introductory sections, from a polyphonic perspective. We also have dances, of course, because the recital actually begins with a pair of dances: a famous pavane written by the English lutenist John Dowland, Flow My Tears. In fact, it is an arrangement that Dowland made of a piece originally written for a vocal ensemble accompanied by lute; in this case it is performed as a solo piece, arranged here for solo guitar (originally for solo lute). Another very important piece from Dowland's repertoire follows-a galliard. In fact, from this pair of dances, pavane and galliard, we know that the Baroque suite would later emerge. There will also be a moment of sacred music-an intabulation, meaning an arrangement made by an important lutenist and composer born in Brașov, Bálint Bakfark. He takes a motet by Josquin des Prez, the famous composer of that period, inspired by Psalm 90, and creates this arrangement for lute, which I transcribed from tablature for the guitar. Naturally, the program will also include dances. The recital concludes with a series of dances written by Adrian Le Roy, an important composer and publisher of the time from France. A significant part of the recital will feature music written for the vihuela by composers of that era. The vihuela is an instrument that we guitarists consider our direct ancestor. It had a relatively short life-from around 1530 to about 1580-after which it disappeared into the mists of history. However, from that period we still have seven or eight extraordinary collections by these performer-composers. I will focus in particular on the collection "Música del Delphin" by Luis de Narváez, from which I will present a set of variations, several fancies, and a deeply emotional piece-a song also inspired by Josquin, called "Mille regretz" ("A Thousand Regrets").

From your perspective, what does the guitar's sound-somewhat more intimate, we might say-bring to this repertoire?

Compared with the lute and the vihuela, the guitar naturally has a slightly fuller sound. Of course, the guitar still remains an instrument with a more intimate tone, as you mentioned, depending as well on the space in which it is played. I believe that it can reveal unexpected colors despite not having a very powerful volume. From my point of view, compared with the sound of the lute and the vihuela, the guitar can bring additional expressiveness and color to this repertoire. That is why I chose to present the recital on guitar. In the past I have also performed it on the lute and presented the program in that form, but at this moment I felt that this recital should be played on the guitar.

Are you planning future appearances with the same program?

At the moment nothing else is scheduled, but this is actually a continuation of a project from last year, when I had a small tour. In February I had five performances around the country with this program, and now I am returning to it with two more appearances in Ploiești and Bucharest. I hope that in the future other collaborations will appear on the horizon where I can present this program again-one that is very close to my heart, as I mentioned at the beginning.