Forest of Dreams
Callum Henshaw
Soundset Recordings: Cat No: - SR1103
Reviewed 17th December 2018
This Australian player is new to me, but judging by his wonderful technique, he ought to be a household name. He begins with a beautiful version of Barrios’ Un Sueno En La Floresta, one of the most demanding tremolo pieces that he makes sound very easy, although without Barrios’ fret 20 , he has to take the top note as an A not a C.
Philip Houghton’s four – movement Stele is next, and does occasionally surface .It’s slightly abrasive harmonic world ranges from loss and devastation to high-spirited jinx and is beautifully played here. Four of LLobet’s Catalan Folk Song re-harmonisations are always welcome friends and a true example of how to make the most of an apparently simple folk – song melody. Canco Del Lladre, El Mestre, L’ Hereu Riera and El Noi De La Mare are the ones he interprets here. The emotional centre of the album is Australian Graeme Koehne’s A Closed World of Fine Feelings which is an elegy in memory of those we have lost .It’s more lively middle section is a celebration , and offers a brief interlude of happiness only to return to the opening ideas after a few moments .A lovely work. Brouwer’s four – movement Sonata del Decameron Negro is a substantial work, every bit as involving as his others, whilst the final Niel Gow’s Lament by Gow is a heartbreaking close to what is a wonderfully executed and recorded CD
Chris Dumigan
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