01. Richard Charlton - Mosaic (1995) ^ [12'08]
02. - 04. Ross Edwards - Guitar Concerto 'Arafura Dances' (1995) * [18'43]
05. - 07. Philip Bracanin - Guitar Concerto (1991) # [22'54]
08. Peter Sculthorpe - Nourlangie (1988) * [21'20]
Karin Schaupp- guitar; Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Mills * and Benjamin Northey ^ and Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ronald Spigerman #
ABC Classics 4810961 [recorded 1993 to 2014; digital download released 2014]
[digital download; flacs, cover scan, no booklet]
Recording venues: Federation Concert Hall, Hobart *, others unknownRecording engineers: Andrew Dixon & Robert Hobson; Producers: Brooke Green & Hans May
This is a 2014 compilation of earlier recordings with only guitarist Richard Charlton's Mosaic newly recorded for this issue. Perhaps echoing the nature of the guitar, all of the works on this issue show the genial side of its composers - even the often spiky Ross Edwards and Peter Sculthorpe - with works that are mainly conservative and tonal.
This issue is largely inspired by Australia's "Top End" and is a tribute to Peter Sculthorpe, who died not long before its release, and to Karin Schaupp’s late mother, guitarist and teacher.
Sculthorpe was inspired by a rock formation in the Northern Territories' Kakadu national park in his Nourlangie, written for John Williams, and Charlton was inspired by a visit to Darwin for a Guitar Competition and heard John Williams playing it. (This recording of Nourlangie has already appeared here on Richard Mills'Quamby issue and you can find some notes about this recording in the accompanying booket.) Mosaic was written as a test piece for the Darwin competition.
Ross Edwards’s Arafura Dances was also written for John Williams and for the Darwin competition. Edwards was drawn to the rich flora and fauna of Arnhem Land and the Arafura Sea, located to the north-east, and reflects "the infinitely changing patterns of birdsong and insect chorus". This work also exists in a version for harp and orchestra. [I have included the booklet from an earlier issue of this recording in this post - an all-Edwards release "White Ghost Dancing".]
The odd one out here is Philip Bracanin's neo-classical Guitar Concerto, written for Karin Schaupp and her mother, in 1991. More abstract in character than the descriptive other works, Bracanin turns to the classical heritage of the guitar for his concerto, exploring the lightness and agility of the instrument as well as its expressive qualities.
Karin Schaupp is one of Australia’s most technically gifted guitarists and these are all excellent performances, splendidly supported by the different accompanying ensebles with consistently good sound despite the wide ranging recording dates.