Among the virtues of
the classical guitar, its versatility
as an instrument of accompaniment must
rank high. It reaches its zenith when
partnered with the female human voice.
Some famous guitarists
have also been competent exponents of
wind instruments: Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829)
played the flute and wrote some delightful
music for guitar and flute duo. It is
not surprising that he did not write
music for guitar and saxophone, since
the latter was not patented until 1846.
Within the jazz genre,
electric guitar/saxophone duos are not
uncommon but the classical guitar appears
infrequently in this combination. Combining
the classical guitar and saxophone in
duo may not be perceived by some as
a union made in heaven, but the same
could be postulated of other guitar/wind
combinations e.g. classical guitar/pan
flute. A review of Erato 4509.96022-2,
featuring Alexandre LaGoya and Simion
Stanciu Syrinx (pan flute) will quickly
dispel any mooted incongruity.
The review disc featuring
a classical guitar and soprano saxophone
duo is the first this writer has encountered.
The Ryoanji duo comprising guitarist
Robert Nathanson and saxophonist Frank
Bongiorno is very active and records
for the Liscio label; inevitably
there will also be other recordings
of classical guitar/saxophone.
To facilitate developing
familiarity and empathy with this rather
uncommon combination of instruments,
one may anticipate at least one or two
familiar pieces within the review programme,
but none appear. It may be by specific
design that no well-known standards
are included in the programme. Post-Baroque,
most composers wrote with specific instruments
in mind and for instruments such as
the saxophone; transcriptions rarely
work well. Although Bachianas Brasileiras
No. 5 by Villa-Lobos has been
arranged for guitar and saxophone, the
latter’s difficulty in producing smooth
legato dynamics does not do it justice.
Fauré’s Pelleas et Melisande,
originally for piano and cello, suffers
a similar fate. Arrangements do appear
on the review disc, but they have been
very carefully chosen to complement
the instruments utilised.
Australian born guitarist
Craig Ogden studied guitar from the
age of seven and percussion from the
age of thirteen. On completion of his
music degree from the University of
West Australia, he attended the Royal
Northern College of Music where he earned
the Music Professional Performance Diploma
with distinction. Awarded to him in
December 2004, he is the youngest instrumentalist
to have received the RNCM fellowship.
Gerard McChrystal comes
from Derry, N. Ireland. Having taken
up the saxophone at age seventeen, he
subsequently studied at the RNCM in
Manchester, London’s Guildhall School
of Music and Northwestern University,
Chicago. It was at the RNCM that he
first met Craig Ogden. Their careers
took them on separate musical paths
until a chance meeting in 2003 at Trinity
College of Music in London inspired
them to form a duo.
The programme features
music from Ireland, Australia, U.K.
and Germany, and incorporates folk,
jazz and contemporary styles.* Many
classically trained musicians attempt
the crossover between classic and jazz/folk
music, some more successfully than others.
Certainly within jazz, classical guitarist
John Williams was not successful. There
are recorded examples of classical guitarists
who suffered a similar fate.
Impeccable as the guitar
playing of Craig Ogden may be, musically
it does not embrace the freedom necessary
to do justice to some of the programmed
items. This is made more conspicuous
by the soprano saxophone playing of
Gerard McChrystal whose style places
him at home in all genres.
Often in duo playing,
either because the music was written
that way or because one performer has
an edge over the other, there is at
times a perception of imbalance. One
emphatic exception to this observation
in guitar/wind duos is the very memorable
recording by James Galway and Kazuhito
Yamashita (guitar), Italian Serenade
RCA 5679-PC, lamentably now impossible
to find. Each musician presents his
credentials as a marvellous soloist
and as an outstanding duettist; the
resulting synergy is embracing and vital.
Despite the title of the review disc
being taken from a composition of the
same name by Craig Caffrey, Pluck,
Blow [13], in assigning contribution
to overall musicality it would be more
aptly titled Blowpluck
Sonically the review
recording is a delight, and the squeakiest-clean
disc I recall having heard; concentrated
attention is required to hear even the
faintest of finger movements on the
bass strings of the guitar.
It is challenging to
define a target audience for this disc
and predict who will enjoy it most.
This is a dilemma faced with much crossover
music, especially if it is a rather
unusual combination of instruments and
falls outside the raw elements of the
genre.
I enjoyed this disc
and aside from minor criticisms found
it has much to offer; those with similar
eclectic tastes may constitute the audience
that will also experience the same reactions.
Zane Turner
* The following information
will assist those unfamiliar with the
composers and their music featured on
this disc:
Ciaran Farrell
When Gerard McChrystal paid a vist to
Dublin’s Contemporary Music Centre in
search of repertory for this disc he
heard a new piece by local composer
Ciaran Farrell. The Shannon Suite is
named after Ireland’s longest river
and each movement represents a lake
to be found on that river.
Stuart Greenbaum
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1966,
Stuart Greenbaum completed three degrees
in composition at the University of
Melbourne and is currently Lecturer
in Composition at that institution.
His music evokes an atmosphere set apart
from the routine of modern life. Greenbaum
describes Cloud Eight, among
other things as ‘an opportunity to think
again’. This version was especially
adapted for McChrystal and Ogden who
premiered it on 14 October 2005 at the
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama,
Cardiff.
Andy Scott
Andy Scott was a contemporary of Gerard
and Craig at the RNCM. He is a member
of the Apollo Saxophone Quartet. The
Nemesis series originally written
for soprano sax and vibraphone has been
arranged for the guitar and soprano
sax.
Greg Caffrey
Greg Caffrey was born in Belfast. He
completed his Ph.D. in composition as
part of a musical education at Queen’s
University, Belfast. He is Senior Lecturer
in Music, Music Technology and Performing
Arts at Bangor College in Northern Ireland.
Skipping was originally written
for an album of McCaffrey’s band, Greg
McCaffrey Circle. The music
is based on children at play and draws
strongly on the games and activities
mentioned in the titles. As an original
work for guitar and saxophone,
Pluck, Blow was first performed
at Marden House, Calne, Witshire in
February 2004.
One of the composer’s goals in writing
this piece was to create a work that
was
fast-moving and charged with energy.
Tony Davis
Tony Davis is a composer from Wakefield,
England and was specially commissioned
to write the work Incantation.
A crossover saxophonist, Davis has long
been exploring the world of classical
and jazz music through his compositions
into Chamber-Jazz. The wind orchestra
piece Incantation and Dance by
John Barnes Chance has had a strong
influence on the musical tastes of Davis
since he first encountered it in the
late 1970s.
Billy Cowie
Billy Cowie, a Scottish composer, has
released 12 CDs of his music on the
Divas Record label. Originally composed
for piano and saxophone in 1977, these
three short romances are presented here
as new versions for guitar and soprano
saxophone.
Ian Wilson
Ian Wilson comes from Belfast, and is
one of the most original and successful
composes in Ireland. Tern/Icarus
comprises two settings of poems by Scot
John Burnside from his collection The
Light Trap.
Ulrich Schultheiss
A German composer, Schultheiss is well
known by European saxophonists for his
funky work Witchunt. The composition
No Rest took a long time to realise.
Contributions by an oboist were abandoned
and later supplanted by the recommendations
of a Canadian saxophonist friend of
the composer. A subsequent idea to rewrite
it for duo was embraced.
Gerard McChrystal (soprano saxophone)
