by Karl Nehring
As you can see from the track listing above, the composers are all modern-day. Guitarist Leisner (b. 1953), who is also a composer himself, writes that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “artists, like everyone else, were struggling to find ways of being useful and keeping up their spirits. One idea that occurred to me was to create a series of commissions of solo guitar works by composers I greatly admire, who happen to be friends as well. Chester Biscardi, Pierre Jalbert, Laura Kaminsky, Bun-Ching Lam and João Luiz, an illustrious group, all responded enthusiastically and generously to my proposal.” He goes on to recount that there had been other pieces he had commissioned in previous years that he had not yet recorded, a piece by Marlyn Ziffrin that he had not commissioned but wished to record, and a movement from a piece by the late David Del Tredici that he desired to re-record. The album starts off promisingly with the opening going home by Randall Woolf, but listeners expecting much in the way of melodic or harmonic richness may find themselves feeling let down. Most of the compositions have a sparse sense about them, although that can be interesting in its own way, as in the compositions by Bun-Ching Lam, Laura Kaminsky, Marilyn Ziffrin, and Chester Biscardi. Adding the piano to the mix in the final Sculthorpe piece provides some welcome sonic richness.
Sean Shibe (b. 1992), who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, of English and Japanese parentage, is one of the world’s leading guitarists. Over the past several years we have reviewed several albums on which he has appeared as a contributor, plus one of his solo albums, Camino PENTATONE PTC 5186 670), about which we observed (you can read the full review here) “none of the playing here is overtly virtuosic or ostentatious; instead, Shibe employs his skills on the guitar to lead the listener gently into a sound world of calm and reflection that is not, however, devoid of energy and color.” But where Camino had featured music by composers such as Mompou, Satie, and Ravel, this new release titled Vesper features music by composers including Adès (b. 1971), Birtwistle (1934-2022), and Dillon (b. 1950) – when I saw those names, I must confess that I was not expecting to be led gently into a sound world of calm and reflection. My exposure to the music of Birtwistle and has been limited but unimpressive. I’ve never heard any music by Dillon. That leaves Adès, whose music I have encountered reasonably often over the past few years but have never really cared for. So, then – full disclosure: from the list of composers, I was not very optimistic about this release; however, this was a guitar album, not an orchestral album, and Sean Shibe is an amazing guitarist, so I was willing to try to put my prejudices aside and give it a good listen.
So, then – did I have a complete change of heart about these composers after spending many hours listening to Camino? Well, yes and no. The opening Forgotten Dances by Adès comprises six fascinating pieces that somehow manage to stretch the limits of what can be done on the guitar while at the same time alluding to traditional dance forms. It’s a delightful set, a little quirky but highly entertaining. It was a relief to be pleasantly surprised by Adès, but alas, such was not to be the case with Birtwistle. His Beyond the White Hand: Construction with Guitar Player; Guitar and White Hand sports the longest title on the album, the longest duration (18:26), but the least amount of melodic inspiration. It broods, meanders, and draws some thumps and bumps from the guitar – overall, it strikes me as a composition more interesting to play than enjoyable to hear. He much briefer (1:55) Guitar and White Hand comes as a kind of echo, easier on the ear, but without much substance. The Adès Habanera is forceful, giving Shibe quite a workout.
The mood changes with the next set of short selections by Birtwistle, which are much more melodic and easy on the ears than the White Hand music; really, folks, it’s hard to believe it’s the same composer. (And thus you can see why I wrote “yes and no” above.) As for composer James Dillon, his 12 Caprices, which are brief little snippets – the whole set coming in at 10:35 – the gentle mood established by the preceding Birtwistle set continues, although a tad more, well, capriciously. These are pieces that are at once playful and thoughtful.
The booklet packaged with the CD contains a wealth of information about the composers and the music, plus a background narrative about the influential guitarist Julian Bream. PENTATONE has released a truly first-class production in Vesper, which earns a solid recommendation for fans of classical guitar. By the way, Sean Shibe did an NPR Tiny Desk concert at which he performed some of the music on this CD: you can find that video here. Enjoy!
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