Reviews
Words inspired by a concert
given by Daniel A Ciurleo
playing works of Isaac Albeniz and Augustin Barrios Mangore
at the Clifton Creative Arts Centre 314 Church Street, Richmond on 13 March 2010.
ALBENIZ - Exerts from Suite Espanola Op 22 (Granada, Mallorca, Cuba, Asturias, and Sevilla)
BARRIOS - Cueca, Un Sueno en la Floresta, Mazurka Apassionata, and Vals)
Many thanks to:
Daniel Ciurleo for the escape into fantasy,
Sebastian Pupillo for your convivial welcome,
Pierre Herrero for the sound of two wonderful guitars: Villaplana Rio and Alhambra P10.
playing works of Isaac Albeniz and Augustin Barrios Mangore
at the Clifton Creative Arts Centre 314 Church Street, Richmond on 13 March 2010.
ALBENIZ - Exerts from Suite Espanola Op 22 (Granada, Mallorca, Cuba, Asturias, and Sevilla)
BARRIOS - Cueca, Un Sueno en la Floresta, Mazurka Apassionata, and Vals)
Many thanks to:
Daniel Ciurleo for the escape into fantasy,
Sebastian Pupillo for your convivial welcome,
Pierre Herrero for the sound of two wonderful guitars: Villaplana Rio and Alhambra P10.
A musical journey from Spain to Paraguay
I arrived at the miniature Victorian-era church in the cool autumn
evening.
The wooden door was open to allow the faint breeze from the street to mingle with the holy air within.
I walked up the steps and entered the sacrosanct haven.
I breathed deeply to absorb the stillness and the faint aroma of frankincense and aged pine.
A smiling persona arose from the pews to welcome me to the evening soirée.
His demeanour exuded warmth as he walked across the wooden floor that did not creak.
The shadows and dim light played with my eyes and mind.
I was so surprised by my vision for I thought that I saw him
with an ancient candelabrum splashed with the wax of nights
lit in the past.
Had I entered into the sanctuary of forgotten shadows?
Why its intimacy was familiar, I cannot say.
I sat amongst others that had come to surrender to glorious sounds of the guitar.
The overture: quietude within the embroidered interior.
My thoughts unfurled and mingled with the ambiance of moments long gone.
Memories of all those that had wandered through were knitted together into tenderness
within the tranquil walls.
They embraced the irrevocable past and exuded empathy and compassion.
They embraced me too.
The darker corners were filled with papier-mâché figurines perusing the scene,
eyes glittering and lips swollen, bursting with loving words still to be spoken .
I felt light-headed and wandered through doorways beyond the altar and back again into the sanctum sanctorum
stumbling upon melodic phrases trickling from a golden well; a joyous greeting.
I was transported through space-time, parallel universes, and quantum entanglements
to arrive in a Spanish mist of sound through the magic of Isaac Albéniz .
Was it Albéniz I saw at the pulpit smoking his cigar?
or was it the floating haze of incense exuding from the timeworn walls?
I was embalmed in the dream fantasies of an Andalusian "Arabian Nights",
the place where Albéniz loved to let his imagination dwell.
Granada, Mallorca, Sevilla, Asturias and distant Cuba,
I was there musing with him, as folk music idioms stirred the universe and awoke its memories.
I was congruently in the past and the present.
I floated in reverie; through sounds that had always stirred me from the very beginning.
Onward, I spiralled ....towards Paraguay in a trance.
I could hear poetic words from the pen of Agustin Barrios Mangoré spiralling around me, riding on his inspired melodies.
"There is a deep mystery in your sonorous
Garden heart, guitar of mine,
You enjoy suffering, and in your joy
Ecstasies of passion, teardrops of crying."
Barrios, Paraguayan guitarist, composer and poet,
I heard the songs of your native birds woven between the sighs of your ecstasies.
Zephyrs of sound carried the fragrance of your beloved forests to me
as I dreamt and danced with you,
in your arms
to your Mazurka and Vals.
Barrios, your music took me to your teardrops and to your guitar garden heart.
Did I see feathers, bows and arrows in the shadows of your music? from the undertones of the past?
I saw your two guitars; those that travelled with you.........
and awoke from the dream…………….
with the sound of hands clapping.
Barbara Kuczuk
________________________________________________
The wooden door was open to allow the faint breeze from the street to mingle with the holy air within.
I walked up the steps and entered the sacrosanct haven.
I breathed deeply to absorb the stillness and the faint aroma of frankincense and aged pine.
A smiling persona arose from the pews to welcome me to the evening soirée.
His demeanour exuded warmth as he walked across the wooden floor that did not creak.
The shadows and dim light played with my eyes and mind.
I was so surprised by my vision for I thought that I saw him
with an ancient candelabrum splashed with the wax of nights
lit in the past.
Had I entered into the sanctuary of forgotten shadows?
Why its intimacy was familiar, I cannot say.
I sat amongst others that had come to surrender to glorious sounds of the guitar.
The overture: quietude within the embroidered interior.
My thoughts unfurled and mingled with the ambiance of moments long gone.
Memories of all those that had wandered through were knitted together into tenderness
within the tranquil walls.
They embraced the irrevocable past and exuded empathy and compassion.
They embraced me too.
The darker corners were filled with papier-mâché figurines perusing the scene,
eyes glittering and lips swollen, bursting with loving words still to be spoken .
I felt light-headed and wandered through doorways beyond the altar and back again into the sanctum sanctorum
stumbling upon melodic phrases trickling from a golden well; a joyous greeting.
I was transported through space-time, parallel universes, and quantum entanglements
to arrive in a Spanish mist of sound through the magic of Isaac Albéniz .
Was it Albéniz I saw at the pulpit smoking his cigar?
or was it the floating haze of incense exuding from the timeworn walls?
I was embalmed in the dream fantasies of an Andalusian "Arabian Nights",
the place where Albéniz loved to let his imagination dwell.
Granada, Mallorca, Sevilla, Asturias and distant Cuba,
I was there musing with him, as folk music idioms stirred the universe and awoke its memories.
I was congruently in the past and the present.
I floated in reverie; through sounds that had always stirred me from the very beginning.
Onward, I spiralled ....towards Paraguay in a trance.
I could hear poetic words from the pen of Agustin Barrios Mangoré spiralling around me, riding on his inspired melodies.
"There is a deep mystery in your sonorous
Garden heart, guitar of mine,
You enjoy suffering, and in your joy
Ecstasies of passion, teardrops of crying."
Barrios, Paraguayan guitarist, composer and poet,
I heard the songs of your native birds woven between the sighs of your ecstasies.
Zephyrs of sound carried the fragrance of your beloved forests to me
as I dreamt and danced with you,
in your arms
to your Mazurka and Vals.
Barrios, your music took me to your teardrops and to your guitar garden heart.
Did I see feathers, bows and arrows in the shadows of your music? from the undertones of the past?
I saw your two guitars; those that travelled with you.........
and awoke from the dream…………….
with the sound of hands clapping.
Barbara Kuczuk
CONCERT REVIEW
SCOTCH ARTS VISITING PERFORMERS' SERIES
Sat Mar 13 2010
I attended a wonderful concert by Slava and Leonard Grigoryan at the Ian Roach Hall at Scotch College with my wife. The night started with canapés and champagne in the wonderful Scotch College surrounds. Some food and libation put approximately 400 attendees in an eager state of anticipation. If the night started this well, what was to come?
Our anticipation was well worth it. Slava and Leonard played to an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd in an impressive and acoustically beautiful hall worthy of their considerable talent. They played from their most recent album release; Distance. They engaged with the audience and struck the right balance of information about pieces to be played, composers and some joking around. Their casual demeanor bellied the virtuosic deftness of their playing.
Distance (Leonard Grigoryan) was the first piece played; an enigmatic piece written as a tribute to the composers whose works feature on the album. This set the tone for a night which followed with compositions from Claude Debussy, Edward Grigoryan, Jeremy Alsop (Melbourne's great bass player), Paulo Bellinati, Bill Lovelady, Radames Gnattali and Ralph Towner.
The brothers were on fire! The colour and tone of their playing served to remind me what can be achieved with a box of wood and six strings. The blistering runs and precise unison their playing demonstrated in Jongo (Paulo Bellinati) was juxtaposed with the beautiful lyricism and delicacy of Naturby River (Bill Lovelady) and Beneath an Evening Sky (Ralph Towner.)
The concert was in two halves and left everyone wanting more. After rapturous applause, Slava and Leonard came out for an encore and played a magical cover of Blackbird (Lennon & McCartney.) This in not on the album but was definitely one of the highlights. Both exhibited their prowess at improvisation and the comfort with which they play not only romantic/impressionist, Sth American and contemporary music but also jazz and pop.
Do yourself a favour and listen to Distance.
Thanks to the CGSV for alerting me about this concert on your website!
John Michailidis
________________________________________________
Sammy breve has attended the first
Launceston CollegeClassical and Flamenco Guitar Summer School. The event was Thursday 14th - Friday 15th January 2010.
Here is what Sammy breve had to say about the event:
I recently attended this event along with several other guitar enthusiasts as the only North Island attendee. There were about 15 people, of a range of age and experience. Around ½ were Launceston College students. The event was lead by Peter Quigley, head of music at LC and Gareth Koch, teacher at LC as well as Hobart Con but also famous as a performer both solo and with Saffire. The tuition covered flamenco with Gareth taking us through the rhythmical pulse of bulerias by first clapping then strumming and chords and golpe, percussive effects on the guitar (suitably armoured with plastic) and finally a range of chordal figures and falsettas.
A talk and demonstration of guitar construction was provided by a local luthier with some interesting insights into the various arrangements of fan struts, the use of carbon fibre and the use of special nut and bridge designs to provide slightly different string lengths and facilitate good intonation.
Gareth provided a master class for a prospective Hobart guitar student who played Tango en Skye by R Dyens.
Most of the time was spent rehearsing ensemble pieces. These were Classical Gas, Introspection and Partial eclipse by R Charlton, La Cumprasita, Baile de Libertad, this last a great rhythmical piece. It is amazing how much material a mixed group can get through to a good level of performance in a short time. The group gave an open concert on the last afternoon, which was enjoyable and well received.
Launceston is a lovely place with fine Victorian parks, gardens and architecture and the river and a beautiful wild gorge within easy walking distance of the centre. This together with an interesting waterfront and a few good second hand bookshops makes it a good spot to spend a few days. Highly recommended for next year.
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Love to read your review !