John W. Duarte (1919-2004) was born in Sheffield, England. His father was a Scottish soldier, who died in 1919 and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents. He started playing the ukulele, but soon moved to the guitar at the age of 15. Duarte was almost entirely self-taught on the guitar, apart from 18 months of sporadic guitar lessons with Terry Usher, with whom he founded the Manchester Guitar Circle in 1946. In 1947 Julian Bream played at one of their first meetings. Duarte wrote almost solely for the guitar, or guitar and other instruments. His total number of works, original, arrangements and collections, is more than 400. Duartes work shows an exceptionally wide range of styles. Some works reflect the Renaissance style of court lutenists such as John Dowland, other works alternate in style between aleatory, atonal and graphic, contained within a conventionally notated framework and allowing spontaneous reaction between the performers. In many other works he employs a tonal language, often colored by the folk music traditions of various nations, and romantic in mood. This new recording presents works for guitar and chamber orchestra: Concierto alegre, A Tudor Fancy, as well as a concertante quartet. Music of great imagination, full of wit and vitality. Played by The Belfort Guitar Duo and the Belfort Chamber Orchestra.
