Our three-year wait for the pleasure of presenting one of the brightest stars of the guitar scene, Alexandra Whittingham, is over. It was a delight to have her at Redmaids’ this evening.

Not only is the novelty of Alexandra’s masterful playing and engaging, genuine presence a loud and clear demonstration of the new wave of classical guitarists around us: young, extremely talented, many of them – finally – female, and making full and agile use of online platforms, no longer at the mercy of promotors and recording labels, but her programming is proof positive of the continued development of the guitar repertoire in their hands.

This evening’s music is wide-ranging, with as few as three or four selections common in the concert repertoire. Alexandra opened with a wonderful handling of Dyens’ Saudade with its very demanding range of technique and emotion, an intriguing start to the programme and a taste of things to come as well as a thorough warmup for the performer.

The following four pieces are from a favourite period of Alexandra’s and one that has seen a resurgence in interest over the last few years, the nineteenth century. Here she demonstrated again not only great sensitivity to tone and style, but also the technique required by – it is easy to forget – very technically demanding music. Sor’s poise, Shand’s Edwardian manners and Pratten’s emotive romance were delivered with sensitivity. Le Départ followed, with great precision in the fast positional chord changes amid Napoléon Coste’s evocation of the drama of the Crimean War, before the first half ended with a shift forward in time to Piazzolla’s delightfully exotic tangos Return to the South and then Summer in Buenos Aires from the Estaciones Porteñas (Seasons of Buenos Aires) suite. Alexandra provided beautiful layers of passion, lyricism and rhythm.

The second part of the programme began with a gentle handling of Scarlatti’s counterpoint before another chronological jump to Jorge Morel’s Sonatina, another stern challenge for the player and a delight for the listener, interpreted skilfully by Alexandra in the dense and complex allegretto, the nostalgic espressivo and the quick dance of the allegro. Her impressive technique in both the left and right hands allows her an interpretation that is full of light and shade, brilliance and sensitivity, making full advantage of the resources of her instrument.

Villa-Lobos and Tárrega are well known to audiences, but it is wonderful to hear these two Preludes and Tárrega’s Capricho on the concert stage. The Prelude no.3 and Capricho were given all the space for their quiet beauty and atmospheric contemplation to ring. Alexandra closed the programme with a contrast in period and style, Gerhard’s Fantasia, a modern composition in Spanish musical idiom, with rasgueado and Iberian rhythms and an occasionally even atonal and jagged take on native harmonies; a bold and intriguing choice.

Alexandra returned to the stage for a thoroughly deserved encore and gave us a beautiful rendering of Towner’s jazz piece Always By Your Side, interpolating her own recent composition of the centre section, normally improvised live by Towner, thus demonstrating another side to her impressive musical sensitivity and skill.

Our thanks and congratulations to Alexandra for a fascinating, entertaining evening of music.

Nick Regan April 2022

Alexandra Whittingham’s CD My European Journey is available from www.alexandrawhittingham.com.
Alexandra uses the plexigas guitar support GuitarLift https://guitarlift.de/.
FB @alexandrawhittingham

How on earth did they play those notes in Flight of the Bumblebee encore? Answer at the end.

The Mēla Guitar Quartet takes its name from the Sanskrit word for ‘Festival’, and their programming and outstanding performance this evening meet that description entirely. It was a joy to reignite the Covid-interrupted BCGS Concert Series in such spectacular style.

From the outset the quartet’s expert technique is front and centre as the Bacchanale in the temple, before Samson and his enemies meet their dramatic end, dances to with evocative eastern harmonies that gather to a fast-paced climax. The delightful range of effects and tone extends still further through Houghton’s beautiful Opals suite, composed for guitar quartet and using fascinating resources to evoke the sparkling plays of light inside the gemstones. Another leap in style sees the group next combine Hendrix’s Hey Joe and an early work for recorder by Handel in a rollicking work that is the title track of their 2018 CD. It lives up to its name, full of bent notes, percussion and classical/atonal harmonies, demanding of the listener at times, but enormous fun and fascinating to hear and watch.

Debussy’s Arabesques provide calm and a musical contrast and again showcase the wonderful technique and coordination of the group, with harp-like cascades rendered cleverly through arpeggios and left-hand runs spread across the four instruments. The speed of these shared figures goes up a whole gear in the powerful arrangement of Glinka’s Overture that rounds off the first half.

Over drinks many audience members are commenting that they don’t remember experiencing a display of skill and musicality like this, and in the second half the rollercoaster continues. Anthony Burgess’ arrangement of Weber has what feels, by this stage of the evening, an almost unusual degree of formality; a moment back on familiar ground. Excellent programming again. One of the highlights of the concert, though, must be Laura Snowden’s My Clock is Broken!. It is intricate and engrossing, with a Pink Floyd-like storyline, slide guitar part, and long fade at the end; rivetingly original composing and an interpretation that held the audience rapt.

The final part of the programme is the Brazilian section. Milhaud’s lightness of touch, Gismonti/Brouwer’s lush, singing melodies and Assad’s tropical, lilting beauty all require the range of the guitar’s resources and a breathtaking array of extended technique in the players. The set of arrangements works wonderfully here, and throughout the performance, Dan Bovey, George Tarlton and Matt Robinson’s own arrangements maintain the delightfully unusual characteristic of sharing the work across all four instruments, avoiding the fixed distribution of voices or roles among the players in some guitar quartets. The result is a series of fascinating and delightful sight-and-sound performance pieces.

And then the Rimsky-Korsakov encore, a tour de force to cap a performance that itself merits that title.

The word ‘magical’ comes to mind when one is immersed in such a varied programme and continuously amazing playing, from the sublime and sensitive to the hair-raisingly energetic. Our thanks and congratulations to the players, composers and arrangers.

The answer to the opening question is teased on the group’s Facebook page: “Nobody is playing semiquavers!! Any guesses as to what cheeky tricks we use to play these swarms of notes?“. I recommend heartily to the curious that they watch the video there and go and see the Mēla Guitar Quartet in concert at the earliest opportunity.

Nick Regan

It was a great pleasure to welcome our sister ensemble, the Bristol Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble, to our October meeting for the second of our Visiting Artist recitals. We have had close links with the BMGE for many years, and several BCGS members are also members of that ensemble under the directorship of arranger, composer and oudist Knud Stüwe.

The BMGE consists of mandolins, guitars, double bass and saxophone. One of the great joys of the ensemble is that it has a key remit the celebration of music with others. The result is an infectiously fun and refreshing experience for the audience.

Each piece was introduced by Knud in his own engaging manner, adding to the wonderfully varied programme an aspect of learning. Music by icon of Egyptian music Riad al Sunbati and the arrangement of Russian composer Tsereteli’s music to the love poem Suliko (Soul) were a particular eye-opener for the audience. From the Renaissance of Dowland and Purcell to Italian opera, twentieth-century avant garde Satie, 60s psychedelic rock and Hollywood film score, the programme was a continuing delight. Knud’s arrangements capture the voicings and intent of the pieces carefully, giving each instrument plenty to do; the players did a great job throughout, the combined sounds of their instruments certainly giving guitar-only ensembles such as our own something to think about in terms of tonal richness and depth.

The Renaissance trio and jazz duet (Paul and Simon perform regularly as the Avellana Duo) that closed the programme were both an admirable show of musicality and an intriguing contrast, again performed with skill and care and proving beyond doubt that music is and must be a shared moment of emotion rather than an intellectual exercise.

Our sincere thanks to Knud and the members of the Bristol Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble for such an enjoyable evening of music. Members of the BCGS are warmly invited to contact Knud and the Bristol Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble via the web and join the ranks of a group with a chartered aim to achieve quality and fun in music.

Craig Ogden has the air of someone happily fulfilling his destiny. He is perfectly at ease doing what he was evidently put on the planet to do, with a playing style and presence that exudes calm and enjoyment. He writes off his between-piece talks as waffle; however, these are definitely part of the evening’s entertainment and complement his musical communication – they give insights into many aspects of the performer’s art as well as into the pieces themselves. He spoke of the decisions needed to satisfy opposing corners of the performer-promoter-audience triangle, detailed the causes of a guitarist’s incessant tuning, demonstrated the alarming flexibility of the neck of his Greg Smallman guitar and regaled us with the story of being conned into giving up a previous Smallman to a serial swiper of fine instruments.

But the near capacity audience was there for the music. “An interesting programme!” was a frequent comment and Craig showed what technical prowess is needed to engage fully with Domenico Scarlatti immediately followed by George Harrison, or Bach followed by Django Reinhardt. As he explained, it could be argued that Scarlatti sounds better on the guitar, with so many tonal possibilities compared to the original keyboard performance. The harpsichord has a limited dynamic range and a plucking mechanism without flexibility, whereas there is the potential, at least in the hands of an expert like Craig, to coax so many tones out of the guitar. So despite the inevitable loss of the sheer density of notes played in a keyboard version, sensitive arrangement and spirited playing of three Sonatas delivered a musical result that the composer would surely have appreciated.
Here Comes the Sun followed, with Craig acknowledging the sophistication of Göran Söllscher’s arrangement and its nod to Bach’s Prelude BWV 1006a.

John McCabe died in February so it was a fitting tribute for Craig to play his 1968 composition, Canto. This brought out wide ranges of dynamics and tones from player and instrument. McCabe composed the piece at a high point in the classical guitar’s popularity and it reflects a time when revolution was in the air with intervals and chords that stretch the ears and variations on themes that never quite complete. The piece finishes quietly, its spirit lingering. We then returned to familiar sonorities: Turina’s Sonata for Guitar continued to delight with tonal variety and a turn of speed that did nothing to compromise the clarity of each note.

The second half of the programme was equally diverse: Bach followed by Reinhardt’s Nuage a contrast of measured control and fulsome swing. Then further contrasts of tradition and modernity as Albeniz’ Torre Bermeja gave way to the rambunctious Rondo Rodeo by Gary Ryan, where pigs squeal and horses gallop.
Craig took us to his birthplace with an encore: Waltzing Matilda, otherwise known as The Jolly Swagman, arranged by William Lovelady. The tune shimmers out of the descending chromatic scales like sun through the eucalyptus.
All in all it was a summery session, and the Bristol Guitar Society thanks Craig for the flashes of sunlight he brought to a wintery evening, and an equally entertaining master class the following day.
Tim Rigley March 2015

Programme

Domenico Scarlatti 1685 – 1757
Sonata in A K.322
Sonata in D K.177
Sonata in D K.178

George Harrison
Here Comes the Sun Guitar   arr. Göran Söllscher

John McCabe 1939 – 2015
Canto   

Joaquín Turina 1882 – 1949
Sonata for Guitar

Interval

J. S. Bach 1685 – 1750
Lute Suite no. 4   (BWV 1006a)
– Prelude
– Loure
– Gavotte en Rondeau
– Bourree & Gigue

Django Reinhardt
Nuages  arr. Roland Dyens

Isaac Albeniz 1860 – 1909
Torre Bermeja

Gary Ryan
Rondo Rodeo  

What a great evening. First we had the pleasure of Amanda Johnson’s short talk on the Spanish pianist-composer Enrique Granados, to whom the classical guitar repertoire is so grateful for his Spanish Dances and Goyescas, and who was to meet a tragic end in the English Channel. These 15-minute talks are among the highlights of the BCGS calendar, as they offer a space to any member to explain, share or demonstrate an aspect of the classical guitar world in which they have a particular interest. Members are constantly surprised by the quality and variety of the talks!

After Amanda’s talk, we tuned up, sat up straight and settled into our Ensemble session, guided as always by our fabulous director Helen James. With the end-of-year recital looming, we need her more than ever.

The second half of the evening was devoted to our special guests, the latest in the Visiting Artist series, in which we invite national and international figures to give recitals and talks. We were delighted to welcome Frances Griffin and Leo Turner, the Griffin-Turner Duo.

Leo and Frances immediately showed their technical control and excellent communication as they started with a bright, up-tempo arrangement of Vivaldi’s famous concerto. Not for them an ‘easy’ opening piece to settle in with! Sanzen-in, for two guitars, inspired by Andrew York’s visit to the temple of that name in Kyoto, is beautifully evocative, and the duo applied the same careful coordination and great subtlety of tone to render the quiet beauty of the piece.

Astor Piazzolla’s wonderful, intriguing treatment of Argentine tango is well known to guitar audiences through his 1960s/70s Estaciones Poerteñas (Seasons of Buenos Aires), and Libertango (a combination of the words in Spanish for ‘freedom’ and ‘tango’, implying the composer’s freeing himself from the confines of the traditional form). Frances and Leo gave it brio, swing and emotional depth that took full advantage of the two-guitar format and the broad chords and layered voices that it provides: Piazolla scored the pieces originally for multi-instrument bands including electric guitar and conventional tango accompaniment.

The duo’s own arrangements of the Beatles’ music provided a new look inside familiar music. Leo and Frances commented later that one obvious but critical issue, when translating non-guitar music onto the guitar, is that the result must be, above all, a meaningful guitar piece. The choral textures in Because were reworked into a full and resourceful combination of the guitar’s capabilities, delivered with a lovely subtlety. Likewise, the addition to the programme Carillon, by Herbie Flowers/Ian Gomm was tastefully arranged.

Another Argentine, Maximo Diego Pujol’s, 2005 piece Palermo (Sunday in La Boca) is bright and lilting, and the instruments’ individual tones gave it a real charm. The programme ended with a fiery rendering of Falla’s famous Spanish Dance from La Vida Breve, with the fast-paced Iberian energy maintained with great control of technique and close communication.

It was an enjoyable and memorable, evening of music, for which we are very grateful to the Griffin-Turner Duo. Conversation and discussion with Frances and Leo continued in the Surrey Vaults before they set off again for Birmingham, where they play regularly to packed audiences in their home city’s Museum and Art gallery.

Programme

 Concerto in D    Antonio Vivaldi
Allegro giusto
 Largo
 Allegro

 Sanzen-in     Andrew York

 Verano Porteño    
 Libertango      Astor Piazolla

 Two Beatles melodies   Lennon/McCartney arr. Griffin/Turner

 Palermo (Domingo en La Boca)
 from the Suite Buenos Aires Maximo Diego Pujol

Spanish Dance
from La Vida Breve Manuel de Falla

We were delighted to welcome back to the Society Evangelos Nikolaidis, graduate of the RWCMD and a performer and teacher with a busy national and international concert schedule, as well as being a leader of the South Wales Guitar Society. Evangelos presented an attractive programme of pieces in thematic groups: Renaissance; 19th century; Spanish; Modern, and Latin American.

Diferencias sobre ‘Guárdame las vacas’ is by Spanish composer and vihuelist Luis de Narváez, who was employed at the court of Phillip II in the early 1500s, and published an invaluable six volume edition of music for vihuela, Los seys libros del delphín (1538), which provided a reference for early guitar technique and repertoire. Evangelos’ performance of this set of variations (diferencias) from volume 6, was spirited and precise.

Evangelos’ playing is characterised by an emphasis on the emotive power of the music, and his rendering of the following four Romantic studies by the great player-teachers Sor and Carcassi surprised many in the audience who knew the pieces with his skillful highlighting of their beauty and sentiment, alongside his mastery of their well-known complexity. These pieces are often played as a part of students’ preparation per se, but rarely as Evangelos performed them here, as the compositional and musical gems that they are.

The energy and tight control continued into Laurindo Almeida’s Danza Gitana, with its rasgueados, tremolos and bass-string melody filled with Spanish temper and flamenco flair. The second of the Spanish pair, Tárrega’s Capricho Árabe was the composer’s most vaunted  and musically accomplished during his lifetime. Again, Evangelos, brought out the depth of colour and character, allowing appreciation of Tárrega’s compositional genius.

The two pieces in the next section were new to the audience. David Cottam’s Moonlight on Water, from his ‘Zebramusic’ collection is a smaller, but no less charming, piece, and the inclusion of Tziogkidis’ Sentimental Waltz was a well-deserved homage to its author, who is still a student; a bright future awaits him.

The Latin America selection of songs and guitar compositions from Cuba, Paraguay, Argentina, and Mexico not only served to further showcase Evangelos’ impressive command of genres and of guitar technique, but brought a great balance to the programme. It was a joy to the ear, evoking admirably the rhythms, romance and wide-open pampas of South America. We are very grateful to Evangelos Nikolaidis for a wonderful evening of music, his example of musicality and precision, and of enthusiastic and thoughtful musical company.

Programme

Diferencias sobre ‘Guárdame las vacas’ Luis de Narváez (fl. 1526-49)

Study No. 6     Fernando Sor (1778-1839)

Study No. 9     Matteo Carcassi (1792-1853)

Study No. 5    Sor

Study No. 7     Carcassi

Danza Gitana     Laurindo Almeida (1917-1995)

Capricho Árabe    Francisco Tárrega (1882-1909)

Moonlight on Water    David Cottam

Sentimental Waltz   S. Tziogkidis

El Choclo     Ángel Villoldo (1861-1919)

Bésame Mucho    Consuelo Velásquez (1916-2005)

El Sueño de la Muñequita  Agustín Barrios (1885-1944)

Milonga    Jorge Cardoso (1949- )

Quizás, Quizás, Quizás   Osvaldo Farres (1903-1985)

Brian Whitehouse is leading light of the UK guitar scene. Former Head of Guitar at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, examiner, publisher and currently Patron of the Consortium for Guitar Research at the University of Cambridge, he is the Director of the Classical Guitar Centre in Birmingham.

Brian’s latest book is the subject of tonight’s talk: Dr Walter Leckie and Don Francisco Tárrega: the unlikely tale of an English Gentleman and a Spanish Guitarist. With an excellent set of illustrative slides, he took us through what is both an uplifting tale of friendship, and an insight into the thoughts of the man who remains the foundation of modern guitar technique, Francisco Tárrega.

Dr. Leckie retired in the 1880s from a career as a military surgeon, to devote himself to peace, travel and study of his beloved classical guitar. As a young man he had studied in London under Mme. Sidney Pratten, guitar tutor to, among others, the Royal Princesses.

A man whose larger-than-life personality matched his large bank balance, Leckie retired to the French Riviera and sought out a new teacher. He was directed to Tárrega, then resident in Barcelona, and the two became firm friends. Despite some of Tárrega’s acquaintances feeling somewhat shocked by the loud, spontaneous Englishman, Tárrega found in him what his life’s work prized: sophisticated musical culture and absolute dedication to the guitar. Their concert trips around Europe and north Africa, financed by Leckie, were an inspiration to Tárrega. For Dr. Leckie, Tárrega was the epitome of the depth and beauty of the guitar.

Brian showed us historic photos, documents, and Leckie’s leather-bound notebooks, with music written out for him by Tárrega and annotated during their lessons. It is a beautifully-produced volume; luminaries including John Williams have been highly complimentary.

The stories of Dr. Leckie and of Tárrega are fascinating each on its own, but Brian’s book highlights the rare good fortune, for the guitar we now know and love, of their paths having crossed in the time and place they did.

Sincere thanks to Brian for taking the time to come to visit us. We wish him well with sales of the book.

Nick Regan May 2019

Brian Whitehouse (2019), “Dr Walter Leckie and Don Francisco Tárrega: the unlikely tale of an English Gentleman and a Spanish Guitarist” (+ 2 CDs) is published by ASG Music Limited.

www.classicalguitar.co.uk

Thanks to some skilful juggling of schedules on both sides, we were delighted to be able to welcome back to the Classical Guitar Society US teacher, festival director and concert artist Harris Becker after more than 10 years, to give us a recital and hold a masterclass for our members. Harris tirelessly seeks new projects and repertoire for the guitar worldwide. He is the founder and Director of the Long Island Guitar Festival (USA).

Recital

Tonight, Harris offered us a demanding programme spanning the 1600s and 2010s, from baroque to contemporary. He began with Albéniz’s celebrated Cádiz from the Suite española, delivering its wonderful light and shade, rolling arpeggios and lovely melody expertly. This was followed by John Williams’ Madrugada, from the 2017 On the Wing CD. It is a simple melody evoking dawn beautifully and demonstrating Williams’ not inconsiderable compositional skills; its simplicity hides the need for careful phrasing and voicing. Harris delivered Williams’ intentions sensitively, as only a fellow guitarist might. He then took us back to Spain with Torroba’s complex, modern and deeply Spanish-sounding Madroños. Again, the technical demands were high, but he interpreted both this and Enrique Granados’ Spanish Dance No. 10 with assured skill. Harris’ interest in contemporary music came to the fore again in Carlo Domeniconi’s Toccata in Blue, a tribute to Gershwin’s masterpiece Rhapsody in Blue. The piece sets off in a boogie-woogie direction, but quickly heads into unfamiliar terrain in high-speed contemporary idiom – campanella, running arpeggios and jazz harmonies that all place very high demands on the player and listener. Harris rendered it with flair. The final item on the programme was a leap back through time and space to Bach and BWV 998. The lilting prelude, the masterful building of the fugue and bright, fast-flowing allegro all pose great difficulties in voicing and positional play that Harris dealt with carefully and easily. He treated us to an encore, again of piano music in Malats’ fabulous Serenata Española, and again delivering the very Iberian voices with great character.

Programme

Cádiz     Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909)

Madrugada    John Williams (b. 1941)

Madroños    F. M. Torroba (1891–1982)

Spanish Dance No. 10   Enrique Granados (1867–1916)

Toccata in Blue     Carlo Domeniconi (b. 1947)

Prelude, fugue and allegro (BWV 998) J. S. Bach (1685–1750)

Masterclass

In keeping with his personal mission as a teacher and promoter of the guitar, Harris held masterclasses in the second half of the evening.

Luke Bartlett takes the hotseat first. He has clearly worked on his piece, and Harris is able to offer further guidance on identifying and applying accents in the melody to give it shape and to engage the audience in the interpretation. Staccato can be used to create colour.

Matt Boyton is working on Andrew York’s Squares Suspended, and he and we were treated to a lesson in creating the illusion of suspended phrases, like bowed notes, that the guitar cannot easily render. He also insists on relaxing and moving as little as possible in positional changes.

Harris continually asks the players Do you like that?; What do you want to do there?, encouraging personal investment and looking for the music in the simplest phrase. He says we should not work unnecessarily hard; take time to plant the left hand before striking the string, and place the right-hand fingers on the string to control the stroke. Both edges of the right-hand nails can be used, to achieve different tones.

Ciaran Elster brings Dowland’s Lacrimae Pavan, and Harris advises studying the words of the text to get the feel for the phrasing of the melody, so as then to be able to separate it confidently from the accompanying voices. Also, differentiate call from response.

Vince Smith brings Stefan Rak’s Temptation of the Renaissance. The piece is spirited and fast: Harris points out that speed is facilitated by a solid pulse, driven by quieter inner voices and louder higher voices. Practise very slowly at first, one phrase at a time; rhythm is key.

Masterclasses are a privilege and an education for all present, both players and audience. We are very grateful to Harris for making this true tonight, and for his energy in giving us a recital and masterclasses on the same evening.

Luke did two great things for us tonight. Firstly, he made himself available to perform for the Society at short notice, and secondly, and more importantly, he presented a wonderful programme of music in advance of his auditions for music college over the coming period.

The programme Luke presented (below) was a substantial one by any measure. Luke has been working hard to prepare for his auditions, and the hours invested showed as he handled, with care and precision, repertoire from the lute onwards.

Dowland’s Allemande for lute and Bach’s Prelude in G both came across beautifully, and set the tone in Luke’s great care in achieving clarity in the quality of the notes, something only achievable through long practice. Sakura is a song every Japanese child knows, but Yuquijiro Yocoh’s theme and variations for guitar has been played and recorded by countless guitarists worldwide. Luke dealt commendably with the tough demands of this piece.

To take together the Tárrega pieces Luke presented, he entered fully into the composer’s nineteenth-century Romantic ethos, a difficult aspect of his work, although Capricho Arabe certainly is also a tricky piece (Tárrega considered it his most accomplished composition). Again, Luke was equal to the technical requirements, bringing out the melodies clearly through meticulous fingering.

Luke’s performance persona came across as calm, and he introduced the pieces in a clear and informative way. The guitar he was using is, splendidly, made by our own BCGS member Graham Harvey. Congratulations to Graham; all would agree it sounded excellent.

Villa-Lobos is a tall order; a contemporary and very guitaristic feel mixed with lilting Brazilian melodies, here in the Mazurka-Chôro and, in the case of the Bachian Prelude 3, with an additional baroque flavour, giving the player a lot to do. At the opposite end of the timescale was Johannes Kapsberger’s Toccata, originally for the early baroque theorbo. It works very well on the guitar, which gives a faithful and haunting presence to the modulating arpeggios.

In the contemporary phrasing and harmonies of Torroba and Ponce’s Valse, Luke’s precision prevailed, and he handled these sensitively and confidently, bringing us up to the present day with Gary Ryan’s famous, charming piece Birds Flew Over the Spire, the lyrical middle movement from the otherwise frenetic City Scenes. Luke worked hard and painted a delightful summer scene.

Our thanks and congratulations to Luke; we wish him the very best of luck in his upcoming auditions. The BCGS is with you.

Nick Regan October 2019

Stop press: since this recital, Luke has been offered a place by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to study guitar under Helen Sanderson, Zoran Dukić and John Mills. He still has to audition for the Royal College of Music and Trinity Laban, but has this place secured. Congratulations Luke!

Programme

 Allemande (My Lady Hunsdon’s Puffe)  John Dowland 

Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 (BWV 1007)   J. S. Bach

Sakura (theme and variations on a Japanese folk song)  Yuquijiro Yocoh

María         Francisco Tárrega

Mazurka-Chôro        Heitor Villa-Lobos

Toccata Arpeggiata       J.H. Kapsberger

Preámbulo from Piezas características     F. Moreno Torroba

Capricho Arabe        Francisco Tárrega

Valse         Manuel Ponce

Prelude No.3        Heitor Villa-Lobos

Prelude No.4        Heitor Villa-Lobos

Adelita        Francisco Tárrega

Lágrima        Francisco Tárrega

Birds Flew Over the Spire     Gary Ryan

Red Maids’ Performing Arts Centre
Saturday 23rd November 2019

It pays to get out and about. BCGS members Barry Corbett and Vince Smith saw the Copenhagen Guitar Duo play at the Dillington Guitar Festival last year, and agreed that they duo had to be invited to the Classical Guitar Society’s Concert Series. Martin Buono and Allan Sjølin, still young men, have already been a duo for nearly 20 years. They applied to and graduated from the Royal Danish Academy as a duo, and have been touring together, teaching and working in music education projects ever since.

From the outset tonight, the power of communication between the two players, the quality of their arrangements and their remarkable technique, was clear. The two guitars shared call and response passages, melody and supporting voices, with each player’s personality giving a slightly different touch to the music. Their adaptations of Albéniz’s Suite Española were lyrical, and sensitively understood in their Spanishness. Many of us had not heard the full set of 8 of Granados’ Valses Poéticos, a formidable suite of Parisian-influenced pieces that the Duo dealt with effectively over its entire length; a novel treat. The verve of the duo continued into Falla’s Danza as they gave a high-powered and high-precision rendition that made great use of the depth and sonority of the instruments’ combined forces. As Allan pointed out, today was Falla’s birthday; he would have been delighted.

The music resumed after the interval in a different vein; the Duo are equally at home in classical style and cool jazz mode. The lilting cascades of Assad’s Canção were a delight, the first of two characteristic Brazilian pieces in the programme.

Thus far, all the music had been arrangements by the Duo, but the Suite Copenhagen is their own composition. It contains elements of all their experience – baroque, minimalism, Latin America and draws on a broad resource of standard and extended technique. In the three Piazzolla pieces that followed, they returned to South America. There was equal challenge and reward in the transposition of Piazzolla’s large band onto two guitars: Zita has wonderful light-and-dark tango story; Tanti Anni Prima is melodic, atmospheric and rich, and Escolaso a light, quick tango step. The Duo worked hard across the fingerboard and the full range of technique to ensure again that all three were bursting with life. The famous Mas Que Nada (with the 6th string in C, the latest in a constant and perfectly-controlled series of re-tunes) was a treat, even including an improvised solo from Martin along its groovy, fast ‘samba novo’ way. The programme ended with the jazz-influenced Cristal; rhythm and technical execution were perfect, with balance and great understanding both of the music and of the audience.

The duo were asked for two encores, in which they revealed yet another facet of their arranging and performance skills with themes from the TV series Game of Thrones and the film of Che Guevara’s travels in South America, The Motorcyle Diaries.

The variety of music tonight was wonderful, and the musicality, technique and success of the Duo’s arrangements of the music a delight.

www.copenhagenguitarduo.com

Programme

From Suite Española:      Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909)
I Granada
II Cataluña
III Sevilla

Valses Poéticos      Enrique Granados (1867–1916)

Danza from “La Vida Breve”      Manuel de Falla (1876–1946)

Interval

Canção        Sérgio Assad (b. 1952)

Suite Copenhagen      Copenhagen Guitar Duo (f. 1986)

Astor Piazzolla (1921–1991)
Zita
Tanti Anni Prima
Escolaso

Mas Que Nada       Sérgio Mendes (b. 1941)

Cristal        César Camargo (b. 1943)