Dreams Laid Down
Alan Rinehart, guitar.
Ravello Records 7996
Total Time: 62:19
Recording: ****/****
Performance: ****/****
Guitarist Alan Rinehart lives in British Columbia where he has taught and even had his own radio show focused on classical guitar music. He is also one of the founders of the Vancouver Guitar Quartet. This new Ravello release brings together five modern classical works for the instrument.
The album takes its title from the opening work by Michael Karmon (b. 1969). Written for Rinehart, Dreams Laid Down (2013) explores six poems written by the guitarist’s wife, Janice Notland. These are printed on the back of the accompanying booklet. One rather fascinating way to listen to this work is while reading the poem as it plays. Thus one can hear how Karmon’s music itself “reads” these words and interprets them into music. The opening movement, “Swirl of Finches” uses a musical motif to imitate this flurry of movement. The music turns slightly darker at its center which follows the poem’s own inner reflection. “Change” is a slightly melancholy turn. A fast waltz greets us in the breezy “Wind Musician”. Interesting little rhythmic ideas add some additional flavor before a second section that has a bittersweet quality. The nocturne “Gateway” adds some chromatic turns in a reflective movement. Hopefulness returns in the joyful “If Nothing Else.” The final movement has a final reflective, arabesque like quality that slowly dissipates. Karmon’s musical language stays fairly traditional. The melodic lines often have an almost folk-like feel sometimes.
Popular music is the inspiration for Richard Gibson’s (b. 1959) brief set of Variations sobre una tema de Juan Lennon, Op. 89 (2013). The piece explores an 8-measure phrase on the Beatle’s White Album (1968). Here we are taken on an interesting musical journey of transformation. The overall style staying fairly traditional with gradual increases in angular melodic exploration and dissonance.
Most guitar recitals have a blend of modern and ancient music that explores the rich history for the instrument. John Oliver’s (b. 1959) Ancient Heroes Suite manages to do both. Each of its six movements refers to a composer, mostly Baroque. “Couperin’s Ghost” opens the suite and indicates the lens through which the music will be explored. It serves as a sort of Baroque-like prelude. What follows then are movements that connect popular dances of the Renaissance/Baroque often with a composer. The second movement “Pavanas of Milan” (2008) was the piece that led to Rinehart requesting an extended set of pieces. Oliver explores the galliard, sarabande, canarios, and the passacaille. Along the way we are given hints of early lute music (“Downland’s Spanish Galliard”), and the rich heritage of Spanish guitar (“Canarios de Gaspar” in a rather touching tribute); all wrapped in engaging brief and accessible pieces. Those who know the guitar literature will delight in hearing the little references strewn across the piece.
Beginnings of the Day (2017) was also commissioned by Rinehart. The two-movement work by William Beauvais (b. 1956) introduces some contemporary techniques and performance challenges. In the first movement, a melodic line is used as a core component for development that unfolds with an ostinato pattern providing some forward motion. An exploration of harmonics also creates a more intimate moment. The harmony adds a bit more dissonance than has appeared previously on the album, but nothing that moves us into atonality. Instead it aids the dramatic engagement of the music itself. The concluding movement is a brief dance.
Finally, the album concludes with a seven-movement work by David Gordon Duke (b. 1950), Soliloquies and Dreams (2003). In a sense, the music here explores the more linear shape of sound on the instrument. Sometimes slight harmonic ideas are created in these often wistful fleeting ideas.
For those interested in contemporary guitar music, there is a great deal to admire here. These are all quite strong pieces all impeccably performed by Rinehart.
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