Dallas Morning News Pickings ample Argentine guitarists bring diverse sounds to the Meyerson From the Dallas Morning News / By Olin Chism / Staff Critic Wednesday, October 2, 2002 To most Texans, Santa Fe means a city to the west, or possibly a railroad. But to guitar aficionados, there's another Santa Fe. It's down south in Argentina. This is the Santa Fe from whence four artists came to perform a highly eclectic program for the Dallas Classic Guitar Society on Tuesday night. As in a previous visit, the Santa Fe Guitar Quartet proved to be a laid-back group with a strongly lyrical approach to music. Unlike the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, which has produced quasi-orchestral razzle-dazzle in its Dallas appearances, the Argentine musicians make no attempt to transform themselves into something bigger. They just play guitar, with plenty of variety. Part of the variety came from instrumental color. The four played at least six guitars at various times, with a considerable range of sounds. Variety also came from the pieces played. The very opening notes were a clear demonstration of one important fact: You don't have to shout to get attention. Whispering can do the trick as well. The beginning of Will Ayton's Prelude & Ricercar was so quiet that there may have been some in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center who didn't realize the music was under way. What followed was lovely, and a strong temptation to get to know Mr. Ayton's music better. After a strange echo piece by Leo Brouwer, which in its unorthodox sounds was a bit like what you might hear on a Voices of Change program, the quartet turned to arrangements of six Romanian folk dances by Bartok. Some of these haunting sounds lingered long in the memory. Switching categories frequently, the quartet spent the rest of the program ranging through music by Bach, Albéniz, Infante, Guastavino (the one composer actually from the quartet's hometown), Metheny and (of course) Piazzolla. Metheny's three jazz pieces were highlighted by a beautiful "In Her Family" and a lively "Better Times Ahead," which, like the Brouwer, had unorthodox sounds.