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Branches
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Mushkatweek Records 300
2006
Acoustic Guitar
September 2007
Mark Small
Ben Verdery's latest album, Branches, spotlights his classical guitar arrangements of eight works that cover the spectrum from Bach to Strauss to a hymn to Hendrix. Verdery's assured playing and obvious deep feelings for each work unify a program that might be too stylistically broad in the hands of a lesser guitarist. He opens with two serious and monumental pieces, Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor, BMV 1004: Ciaconna and Mozart's Adagio K. 540, plumbing the emotional depths of each and handling the formidable technical challenges of each confidently and colorfully. The mood brightens in Bach's Cello Suite No. 4 and more so with Strauss' "The Blue Danube," which waltzes with stately elegance. Verdery retreats to seriousness again in his version of "Amazing Grace" before closing joyfully with three Hendrix tunes: "Ezy Rider", "Little Wing", and "Purple Haze". Verdery weaves Hendrix's melody in and out of rapid arpeggios, rasgueados, and scales in "Purple Haze", then finishes by quoting "The Wind Cries Mary" and trilling a bass note while detuning the string until it goes slack. The album is a strong artistic statement by one of America's most creative and capable guitarists.
GUITARE CLASSIQUE NO. 36
(France)
Sélection Les disques
François Nicolas
Septembre, 2006
BRANCHES
What do JS Bach, Johann Strauss, WA Mozart, and Jimi Hendrix have in common? Jean-Sebastien and Johann were not guitarists, so in this case, the common link is the arranger.
Beyond the guitar playing, literally! it is exceptional and even rare to find an artist who can successfully record onto one recording so many diverse styles, and each work brilliantly arranged.
The most impressive is Adagio K540 by Mozart. With just a quick perusal of the original score, one quickly discovers the brilliance and extraordinary work accomplished by Verdery.
Equally impressive is the Blue Danube by Strauss; the subtleties of each segment of the work are perfectly adapted to the guitar, including trills.
Finally, what seemed most obvious at the beginning..able to perform Hendrix on a non electric guitar... (not to mention the remarkable performance technique) makes one hunger for more. The sonority of the electric guitar is seemingly more distant from the classical guitar sound than from the violin and cello.
The phrasing and breathing of Mozart's Adagio inspires one to the point of wanting to go play the original on the piano.
The interpretation of Bach's Chaconne is remarkable; the clarity of sonorities heard enables the listener to understand the various conversations occurring throughout the piece. And most of all, the intelligent fingering allows the listener to hear rapid passages performed smoothly (as intended in the original score composed for violin), rather than the more 'detached' sound one often hears on the guitar.
You will also find yourself savoring the Strauss, so Viennese in its phrasing that one could imagine him or herself in a caf near Graben.
A must hear! Indulge yourself in this recording.
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