FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
------------------------------

'THE EIGHT-STRINGED BACH': NEW SOLO CD BY CLASSICAL GUITARIST RAPHAELLA SMITS ON ACCENT RECORDS.

Wednesday September 9, 2009 (Hove, Belgium) -- Belgian classical guitarist Raphaella Smits treats the world of music lovers to a new solo album. For that she arranged for 8-string guitar three grand compositions written by Johann Sebastian Bach.

'The Eight-Stringed Bach' includes the 'Prélude pour la luth o cembal' (BWV 998), the 'Solo pour la flûte traversière' (BWV 1013) and the 'Partia secunda a Violino Solo senza Basso' from 'Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato' (BWV 1004).

Raphaella Smits presents us a Baroque performance with a refined taste and shows us that it is possible to disclose the most pure romanticism in this music style, always so complex to play. Raphaella Smits reveals how Bach put into his music the most profound thoughts and feelings with a melodic and harmonic richness supported by a brilliant architecture. These Bach interpretations leave no one unmoved.

To Raphaella Smits the idea of performing Johann Sebastian Bach on the guitar is not as out of place as would appear at first sight. There are many examples, she says, that show how Bach himself designed a single piece to be performed in different arrangements – because, after all, the instrument must serve the music totally without modifying what should be at its heart.

Raphaella Smits plays worldwide in her unique way eight-string guitars and historical instruments. She has made 17 albums, many of them being listed as indispensable to refined music lovers.
She is internationally praised as an inspiring teacher for both guitar and chamber music and organizers of international music competitions ask her frequently as a juror.
Raphaella Smits is called quite rightly "une Grande Musicienne."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For audio samples of The Eight-Stringed Bach: < www.musicontact-germany.com>
For further information on the artist Raphaella Smits: <www.rsmits.com>
on the instrument Kolya Panhuyzen: <www.panhuyzen.de>
on the strings D'Addario: <www.daddario.com>
on the distributors of Accent Records: <www.musicontact-germany.com>

or contact:
ACADEMIX, Vredestraat 169, B-2540 Hove, Belgium, EU
+32 3 457 69 74
academix (at) pandora (dot) be