YORK:Sunburst; Green Galliard; Andecy: Sunday Morning Overcast; Muir Woods; Rock Steppin’ Crusade; Perfect Sky; Sunshine Rag; Reflections: GUARALDI : Linus & Lucy: TCHAIKOVSKY : Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: COUPERIN : Mysterious Barricades : HARLINE: When You Wish Upon a Star.
Andrew York
GSP Recordings : GSP1011CD
Occasionally I get to review a true classic album, and here is one such CD. Andrew York is of course really well known as a fabulous player and a wonderful composer too, as this album, with nine of his pieces will testify. It starts with Sunburst, one of his most famous works played all over the world (providing you are competent enough, that is, for this is a really tricky work to get your fingers around!) As it stands it is a true classic and one everyone who loves guitar should know. Green Galliard is, as the name suggests deliberately written in the Renaissance style, as if written for the lute. A Lovely piece. Andecy is gentle and sad and again another lovely work. Sunday Morning Overcast is another lovely melody and also in a unique style that all of York’s pieces are, and really is worth hearing. Muir Woods is slow and emotional and again has some lovely harmonies and a memorable melody that many will love to hear. Rock Steppin’ Crusade is a much bouncier piece but still has those individual touches that set his compositions apart from many others you will hear/play, and moreover shows everyone just how fabulous these performances are, because they do not come anywhere near the ‘[easy’ category, even though York makes them seem so. Then we get the title song, which is a lovely flowing and gentle piece of fine composing. Sunshine Rag is, as the title suggests, full of rag rhythms but with some unexpected moments that set it aside from the usual Rag. The final York piece is Reflections , which , as with all of his other compositions, is friendly, sad, emotional, and full of great touches . Fabulous!
After that the last four pieces are by other composers, the first being Guaraldi’s Linus and Lucy which is very much in that lowing, melodic style of York’s, and with a beautiful harmonic note melody section as well as being very dance – like in places. Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy does seem as if it wouldn’t work, but it is a brilliant arrangement that uses all of the original’s diminished chord harmonies and sounds like it was written for the guitar!
Couperin’s Mysterious Barricades takes us back a few hundred years and is another fine arrangement of a piece that originally for keyboard, but fits the guitar wonderfully well.
The final piece is from Disney’s Pinocchio, and is the very famous and fabulous When You Wish Upon a Star, which is superbly arranged and a great closer to what really is one of the most wonderful albums you are ever likely to hear. So if you really haven’t come upon this yet, go and hunt it out!
Chris Dumigan
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