Campoli, who is excellently recorded, is on precisely the right wavelength, leaving us in no doubt of how difficult these works are to paly and yet, paradoxically, making it all sound easy. Opus 23 No. 2, a zapateado and probably the least unfamiliar piece here, is a fine example, although so also is No. 2 of op. 21, a gracefully swaying habanera whose complex filigree is thrown off with the seeming casualness which is the essence of this sort of virtuosity. What is consistent throughout all nine items is the high, and memorable, quality of the melodies. Opus 22 No. 1, an Andalucian ballad, is fully of lovely tunes, as is the first piece of op. 23, a playera, with its sorrowful cadences. Occasionally, as in op. 26 No. 1, a kind of fandango and the longest item here, this is done in the grand manner, yet never too much so. In the exhilarating "Navarra" Bunt matches Campoli well, and Ibbott is a good accompanist; but all the interest is in the violin throughout.
