Songs & Dances from the New Village
Laura Gilbert, flute & Antigoni Goni, guitar
Koch International Classics
José Manuel Lezcano, Sonatina tropical
Atanas Ourkouzounov, Sonatine: Hommage í Theodisil Spassov
George Mavroedes, To John
Dusan Bogdanovic, Songs and Dance from the New Village
Robert Beaser, Selections from Mountain Songs
Ravi Shankar, L’aube enchantée (sur le Raga “Todi”)
José Luis Merlin, Al Cristo de la Quebrada: (Zamba del regreso)
I was afraid that I knew what this CD was going to sound like before listening to it, since I have heard my fair share of music for flute and guitar. If you are thinking “I already know what this disc sounds like, too” they you are wrong. Laura Gilbert and Antigoni Goni have selected pieces that blend the stereotypical with the surprising. Each piece is expertly played and expressed. Ms. Gilbert’s tone is warm and inviting with a graceful technique and natural musical sense. Ms. Goni is an excellent foil to the flute’s material, making her parts of the duo a strong presence instead of a measly “boom-chick” accompaniment. These two are a real duo.
The first piece, Sonatina tropical by José Manuel Lezcano is smooth and mellow, just like the kind of music you’d expect to hear on a flute and guitar CD. Just as I was relaxing into the music, the Sonatine: Hommage í Theodisil Spassov by Atanas Ourkouzounov came crashing in. A vibrant, percussive, and intense work, this piece builds a rich texture from thumps and vocalizations by both players. This piece was a welcome surprise to the disc. To John by George Mavrodes is a lovely lyrical piece with a simple, heartfelt melody. When you get a good melody, like Mr. Mavrodes has, you just run with it.
The title piece, Songs and Dances from the New Village by Dusan Bogdanovic was another surprise. The music is sultry and colorful, emotive and playful, and evocative of a wide variety of Macedonian styles. This is one of those pieces that I hope gets played a lot. Robert Beaser’s Mountain Songs selections feature Appalachian/Scottish tunes in settings that are spacious, wistful, and exploratory. The tunes are all familiar to me and the arrangements are creative and simply gorgeous.
Ravi Shankar’s L’aube enchantée (sur le Raga “Todi”) is an extended passacaglia on a morning raga and features the guitar as a soloist more than any previous work. This makes perfect sense to me since the guitar is playing the role of sitar, harp, and tabla all at once. The work unfolds slowly, is quite repetitive (as you might expect from a raga) but always pulls your ear into the next section. The final piece,”Zamba del regreso,” is the second movement from Al Cristo de la Quebrada by José Luis Merlin. This is another one of those “sit back and listen to the beautiful tune that I wrote” kind of pieces. Nothing wrong with that. The performance is emotional and without flaw.
All in all, this disc has an excellent balance of traditional music for flute and guitar as well as many surprising ventures. If you think all flute and guitar music sounds alike, you really need to hear this disc. Actually, no matter what, you need to hear this disc.
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[...] taylor wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAll in all, this disc has an excellent balance of traditional music for flute and guitar as well as many surprising ventures. If you think all flute and guitar music sounds alike, you really need to hear this disc. … [...]