Charbell B. Letef

Former vice president of LCS and chief editor of the HERE, THERE & YONDER. The newsletter of the lebanesecanadian society of B.C.

Over a decade and half a year ago,a young man, moved by the flowing notes of the Adagio of Concierto de Aranjuez, set out to play the guitar. A Canadian, of Lebanese origin, he began his journey with the instrument at the youthful age of 17. After diligent hours of practice, this CD resulted, and with it we explore different plateaus of the magical souds of flamenco and classical guitar. The young man’s name is Charbell B. Letef.

He was born in Hasroun, a small village located in the northern part of Lebanon. Nestled at the fott of the famous Cedar mountains and situated atop a steep luscious canyon at an altitude of 1450 meters, this region of Lebanon had inspired many artists, musicians and poets. Evidently, it also inspired the passionate and intense style of the playing of this recording artist.

When asked about his feelings towards music and performing, he replied:

“ since I was a little boy, whenever I listened to music, I became aware of the state of my feelings. Perhaps this is because I have learned to associate the music with a person, place or event. Over the years however, I appreciated music even more; music reminded me of pleasurable, nostalgic and hidden feelings, and occasionally guided me to explore new ones. In playing the guitar, I discovered a timeless means to navigate toward a composers thoughts and feelings, and to stir and uplift the mind and soul.

His journey (or travesia in Spanish) with the guitar began eighteen years ago when he came upon an old classical guitar in his hometown, and made his first attempt at playing it. Two years later, he traveled to Denver, Co., then to Memphis, Tn. To attend university and took his new found companion with him. In December of 1983, he moved to Canada, a place he had long desired to live in, and began his serious musical training. He studied periodically with accomplished musicians David Philips in Toronto and later with Josef Otto and Steven Boswell in Vancouver. Though these instructors, he learned about “ guitar musicianship” and his passion for playing the guitar was moulded.

As we “ traverse With the guitar,” we take a pleasant journey with the expressive sound produced in this recording and listen to some of the best-loved and well-known guitar tunes. The selection presents the unique dimension of the Spanish guitar as defined by this recording artist:

“ Sounds projected from the guitar like the tintinnabulation in La Ccatedral, the captivating serenity of the Studies and Spanish Romance, the musical variety of the Milonga and Romanza, the suspenseful Leyenda and the dynamic Malaguena, the reminiscent sounds of the Capriccio Espanol and the Recuerdos, the folkloric dances of the Farrucas and Herenicia, the brilliance of the Arabian Fantasy and devotional music of Bach and Schubert, place the classical guitar as the centriod for charm, elegance, romance and vivacity.