Paul Chasman Featuring Doug Smith, guitar
Conversations For Two Guitars
I call these pieces Conversations because that is how I think of them. Although I have used the labels "1st guitar and 2nd guitar," this is more for the purpose of identification than to designate order of importance. My intention is to create two guitar parts that weave in and out of each other, harmonize, trade ideas, and respond to each other, much like a conversation. 1. Big Guy Strikes Again (4:07)
2. Shimmering (4:32)
3. Ancestors (3:45)
4. The Great Escape (2:39)
Prelude: Ancient Wonders (2:36)
Ancient Wonders are the giant old growth spruce and cedar trees in the Drift Creek Wilderness. I wanted to write a piece that felt organic, static yet teeming with inner movement and life, and forever reaching upward.
Suite For Cello and Guitar:
When I have written music in the past, I have usually composed the music first, then figured out what it represented to me afterwards. This is the is the first time I have intentionally set out to write music based on a set of subjects. This suite is inspired by different aspects of life with Anna near the beautiful Alsea Bay on the Central Oregon Coast.. 1. Mother Ocean, Father Sea (6:02)
2. Majestic Elk (4:46)
3. Return of the Swallows (2:10)
4. Alsea Bay (3:54)
5. Dog Dance (Sitka and Clyde) (3:51)
6. Home (4:28)
|
Paul Chasman composed the music on this CD. Most recently he
has composed and recorded two sonatas for solo guitar, transcribed and
recorded Sergei Prokofiev's Seventh Piano Sonata for solo guitar, and played
as a member of the Acoustic Guitar Summit (which also features Doug Smith,
Terry Robb, and Mark Hanson). Paul writes a regular column on his website
sharing insights on a range of musical issues, guitar techniques, and theory.
Hamilton Cheifetz has received international recognition as a performer and recording artist. Fanfare Magazine wrote: "Cheifetz is unquestionably a magnificent player." A former student of Janos Starker, he has played at the White House and Sydney Opera House and has often been heard on NPR's Performance Today. The winner of the Piatigorsky Prize, he is Professor of Music at Portland State University, cellist of the Florestan Trio, and has been guest artist with the Toronto, Milwaukee, and Oregon Symphonies. Doug Smith has studied guitar since childhood, ultimately majoring in the classical guitar. After hearing fingerstylist John Renbourn, Doug switched to the steel-string. He has over a dozen recordings to his credit, including his popular CD's Order of Magnitude and Alone at Last. His music is heard on radio, TV, and film. He thanks Paul for the opportunity to resurrect his classical "chops" for this project. |
"Songs from the Bay opens with Big Guy Strikes Again,
a tribute to Bach...The 'Again' refers to a portion of his Second Guitar
Sonata (1998), called Ode to the Big Guy, a fairly straightforward
rendition of Bach's style in strict 2/4 time. The new piece is trickier,
looser: Chasman took a Bach theme, 'twisted it inside out,' and set in
7/8 time.
"The four Conversations for Two Guitars include the limpid Shimmering and a waltz tribute to Chasman's German and Russian forbears, Ancestors. The finale, The Great Escape, has the two guitars dashing at breakneck speed, sometimes in parallel motion, sometimes passing the melodic line back and forth between them, before the sudden relief of four chords and a single unison note. "(Doug) Smith and Chasman are joined by (Hamilton) Cheifetz for Ancient Wonders, a Prelude to the Cello and Guitar Suite, which depicts the giant spruce and cedar trees near Waldport. The Suite itself includes programmatic portraits of the ocean (gorgeous, bittersweet power), the elk (haunting cello passages with delicate underpinning from the guitar), the swallows (a brisk allegro that Cheifetz says is almost like a 'country fiddling tune'), and Alsea Bay (reminiscent of Camille Saint-Saens' The Swan). "The most entertaining movement is Dog Dance (Sitka and Clyde)' in which the guitar portrays Chasman's smart Malamute, and the cello as his stronger, good-natured Rottweiler. The former gambols and picks snappishly while the latter galumphs along. "Cheifetz, who has worked in the past with classical guitarist and composer
Bryan Johanson, says, 'They write in very different styles, although both
are inspired by nature.' Chasman's work is 'kind of folk and country
and classical combined, but he has a real nice feeling for melody and how
the cello and guiar can work together.' "
"The trio works together with considerable chemistry. Chasman and Smith interweave their guitar voicings with fluid ease, and Cheifetz's cello exudes its usual warmth. There are moments of pluck and Baroque brightness. Exquisite musicianship." --Willamette Week To describe Paul Chasmans music and the sounds that emerge from his
guitar is almost a spiritual experience for people familiar with his history
of musical development. To hear his Guitar combined with Cellist
Hamilton Cheifetz and Guitarist Doug Smith is a musical journey not soon
forgotten. These Musicians truly play for the absolute love of their instruments
and the purity of sound that is seldom found in today's musical world.
Having discovered Paul Chasman on previous CD's (Real Songs, Sonatas
& Prokofiev), in addition to some of his earlier works, I feel
I have had an inside track on a musician that is coming to the forefront
of todays World class Guitarists. Do not miss the opportunity to become
familiar with Guitarist Paul Chasmans musicianship and songwriting.
Truly a musical experience that will give you a new perspective on the
infinite array of sounds and emotions that can be brought forth on an acoustic
and classical Guitar. This CD is treasure.
|
RealAudio Music Excerpts1. Big Guy Strikes Again 2. Shimmering 3. Ancestors 4. The Great Escape Suite For Cello and Guitar: Songs From The Bay
(You need the RealAudio Player software program to play RealAudio files. You can download it here and install it on your computer. It's free!) |
Copyright © 1998-2007 Paul Chasman
[an error occurred while processing this directive]