The Spanish composer Manuel Castillo wrote prolifically in a wide range of genres. His works for guitar, many of which are unpublished, reveal a keen awareness of the instrument's expressive and virtuosic potential, whether in the passionate energy of the Sonata or the evocative imagery of the beautiful Kasidas del Alcázar, inspired by the kasidas (an Arabic poetic form) of the 20th-century Sevillian poet Joaquín Romero Murube. The masterly Quintet with Guitar is an important addition to the small body of twentieth-century works for guitar and string quartet.