Springfield Classical Guitar Society
Artists In Review
            This page was most recently updated Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The CDs pictured and reviewed at this page were produced by artists who played Springfield Classical Guitar Society concerts during the years I have been a part of the organization. Reviews and pictures taken during their concerts are by Job Conger, creator and webmaster of SCGS pages.
   Reviews Introduction
     I have a Master's Degree in Public Affairs Reporting, but no degree in anything musical. I play folk guitar and write songs that are neither classical nor blues nor rock and rap. Because I know a little bit about what it's like to touch a guitar and play it, and enjoy listening to guitars play almost all kinds of music, I trust my senses. So, since I can't be scholastic in my approach to these reviews, I'm going to be aesthetic. I am concerned with how the production reaches the ears and eyes. Eye? Yes, the eyes.
     The CD by its cover
     The cover and liner notes are an important part of any CD because you're going to spend time there as you get to know the music. How easy it is to read, what it shares and how it looks are inextricably part of the overall impression of the musician.
      The flow of the tunes.
      We have the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to thank for showing us there is value not only in the water, but how the water flows - or the music in this case. Was there a plan for the pacing and choice of music? If there appears to be to this reviewer, the CD succeeds more than if not.
     Technical ability of the artist
     Many musicians (folkies and rockers for sure) record CDs before they should. The results reach the ears as poor choices of chords, picking that thumps instead of ringing clear and ragged playing: extra beats before transitioning to the next bar, missing beats, tunes that end, not by slowing to a stop when they should, but by impacting with a brick wall of silence. I have not heard a CD by a classical musician that I consider "produced before his or her time." This is not naiive admiration on my part; it is the nature of classical guitar recording. For the sake of their career, few classical musicians will go into a recording studio before they are ready. They know music, can transcend most pitfalls with their practiced ability, and invariably, in the main, "deliver the goods." Still there are nuances in the art. And the artists' success in playing more than "notes on a page" is what makes the difference between a fair (as in average) recording and music you want to play when you want to simmer in the sound of exceptionally played music. So that's why I pay attention to technical ability.
   Enjoyability
   Some CDs, like some books, have value becuse they look good on the shelf. The artist may have chosen obscure composers he or she felt merited exposure, and that's not knee-jerk bad. From caves of neglect, surprises come. Others play complex compositions intended to impress music producers and talent agents. The most critical element to a CD, to this reviewer, is the questiion: "Am I glad I listened to this thing?"  

Dulce, indeed!
     The cover is warm. Great poses, especially in front, a little "come hithery" on back, but nice, and in the main, decent topography (choice of fonts). The exception is the sharing of composers' names in a faux longhand which would be hard to read printed black on white, but is a real challenge in medium brown against a background that is just a little lighter. Complex lettering and poor contrast do not a happy rendering make. The two pages of liner notes inside aren't much easier, using a low contrast "handwritten" white on light grey for the headings and more readable black on light grey for the text which curves around the body of a guitar. Goldberg's bio is one page; facts about the composers, but little info about the music played on this CD.
     Superb first piece! Very melodic, covivial, and nicely played. It's evident that a the concentration requisite for this kind of music affected her ability to play with the seamlessness of a more experienced artist. This is true especially in the second, slower band, but also in the third cancion as well. They have a recital piece edge, though the freshness and sunshine still reach the ear warmly. Goldberg is a serious student of Manuel Ponce and it shows.
     Based on how many times Domeniconi's Koyunbaba appears on CDs recorded by visiting SCGS artists, the musical nugget is an essential part of the modern player's repertoire. For good reason. Few tone poems take the listener as far away from pot roast and chunky peanut butter Americanailty as this evocative adventure. In a dark room with the volume cranked up, there is an urgency, especially in the Presto, that has had me on the edge of my seat, leaning into the sound. Nice effort!
    Estrellita brings us back to earth and the recital hall as we know it. Goldberg is smart to reprise Ponce after Domeniconi instead of giving us a longer, solitary dollop of this terrific composer on the mind's plate. This fellow is Mexican, but some of him must have been Brazilian too.
    Very nicely timed, after almost playing the world to slumber with a deliberately played El Noi de la Mare, the music of Barrios brings the circulation back to our outlook. There's more passion in the final track than shared in the rest of the CD. Passion does not bring confidence, however. The slight uncertainty sounding in growing melancholia, written into the piece, finds smooth resolution as the final moments of this CD reach the ear exquisitely.
    The entire production is well engineered, especially for her premiere recorded effort. It's fun to listen to, and I have, often since bringing it home from the concert. The music is easy to appreciate and understand.It serves as a gateway through which to explore the music of concert and studio heavy treaders. It is also easy to recommend to other listeners.
    ERRATA:  Coincidentally, Julie Golberg's concert wsa the first SCGS presentation I attended. The first fine impressions she and SCGS made at that concert were "instrumental" in hooking me to the organization and to the talented musicians it brings to Springfield. A gateway in its own right, that concert and the fine performance are the forces responsible for my creating the SCGS pages. And for that affliction, I shall always be grateful.
   

      By Its Cover: The Naxos Laureate Series is intended to introduce new artists to the public. The cover picture makes a great first impression. The guitar is almost incidental. Every word is easy to read, and there is excellent reading: another picture in the four pages describing the composers and the artist in English and three in French.
      By Its Notes: The first notes in this CD are somber tones and, it's clear that the listener is entering a dark place. The is not something to play on a picnic. Superb microphone placement and wide range of power permeate the opening Domeniconi. There are more than notes being shared here. Goni has the notes; probably had them when she was 20. But the passion that is evident in the seamless segways from languorous phrasings to breathless galloping charges that arrest the heart shows proof of a maturing artist. For the person she appears to be in concert, this track is a perfect "hello and this is what I am" introduction. Lasting 11:45, it's the longest track on this CD. It is intended to be played as one track, and the four parts are not separated as the listener discovers with the Mompou on track 3.
      Rodrigo, following, confirms with its dissonance and moodiness, that Antigoni is of this modern age and not a player of ditties. There is not an extraneous beat, buzz or thud where a chime should be.
     Just about 27.5 minutes with its six movements recorded in separate tracks, the Suite Compostelana is stark in its economy of dynamic movement. So much so that I heard no difference between the sombreness of the third movement, Cuna, and fourth, Recitativo. Cancion infuses a breath of oxygen-rich  melody in the tundra of this piece.  The final movement lifts the ears and mood rises with them. The opening phase seems to say "After all, after all, life is more than just poignance and glumness."
     Augustin Barrios Mangore's Un Sueno de la Floresta seems an anthem and is soulfully mostly  major in its affirmation of redemption. 
      Brouwer seems to serve honey and salt with every sound bite-phrase. Hearing her play this, I have to wonder if the chills that reach the ear, written into the music, were also felt by the musician. You don't have to be "the gun" to strike the bull's eye, but I have a hunch that Antigoni Goni is very much the gun and the one who pulled the trigger. Brouwer (whom, I concede, is a major fave composer of this reviewer) comes through by sending solemnity to a distant place down this final track.  I did not want to end this listening vacation from my inexorable obligations, by sitting in the same dark room, introspecting, as I found myself when easing into the first selection. And Brouwer doesn't leave me there. There are
inklings of songs in the final track. And an call to action, saying (and I'm just making these words up, based on what the melody says) "There is sunshine waiting for you. Now go." A wonderful CD because of what it elicits with what it brings.
     BUY the CD: The echoes will linger long in your heart.

   By the Cover and Liner Notes -- The cover painting works well if one considers the solitary bull in rolling hills and an orange sunset as an allegory of the composer's life. The rear cover gives the reader reasons to purchase this CD, and the liner notes confirm its suggestion that Agustin Barrios led a life worth examining. He was a wanderer, made his living from his composing and playing, never did much more than that, and never even visited the USA! There is gold in these rolling hills of melody and tonality, and the smart classical musical enthusiast will mine those hills and savor their rich bounty.  Text is in English, French and Spanish. The biography of Barrios is very well written, and probably deliberately concludes with his life in 1928 when he had 16 years of life ahead of him. I am betting the rest of his story will be included in a volume 2 and 3 or more.
   By the Note: --  What a delight, this first track! There are virtuoso fingers at work here, each note clear and clean and thrilling in its ramping pace, like a horse happy to be out of the paddock and cruising down a country road harnessed to a light wagon.
   Barrios' Un Sueno de la Floresta is not the same playing of the same piece delivered on her first CD. Besides being 15 seconds longer, there is a stronger left hand involved -- maybe it's the positioning of the microphone that suggests this, but I absolutely got that impression. Only the final strum seemed muddled, almost muted. And you know something? Maybe that's how she intended it!
    There are people who read poetry who do not distinguish between a light moment and a heavy moment. I know this. I am a poet first, and I hear it happen. There are also guitarists who cannot or do not distinguish (while reading visual cues that pretty much dictate to the musician what, in general, to do with a bar of music) with more than a lunge in the general direction, the difference between rapture and longing for rapture, between sweet-slow and sorrow-slow. Antigoni Goni makes the distinctions sans flourish and fanfare, and brings the listener to the sound the way a wide receiver running long yardage brings in a pass from a talented quarterback.
    The 16 tracks on this CD are technically, consistently right on target in the main. There are glimpses of going sharp in top of the Madrigal-Gavota theme, but it doesn't happen every time. If it did, I would have considered it "technique" and not divergence, and it doesn't interfere with the flavor of the tune. This compendium of sound is a Moselle production; not the Pinot Noir to serve guests inside after the sun goes down. This is a CD to play during a picnic when the symphony of nature is not enough and your friend is smiling most of the time.
     There's no reason to dilneate the virtues of every track on this CD. For the most part it is a babbling brook of musicality that carry the listener on a pleasant trek. Even the four elements in the separately grouped Suite Andina sail effortlessly in this stream. The notes explain that Barrios grouped them together, but he is not known to have played them in succession publicly.  They are a tour de force of playing technique that keep the attention of the listener while being sunset-ish in their mood. If I were the king of CDs I would make a law against last track  musical selections that leave the listener glum. Antigoni Goni seems to believe that also, and that's how I know it would be an appropriate rule.  Her final track is exhilirating and ends too soon, like a hearty pat on the back when friends say goodbye. But this goodbye is an affirmation of friendship, not its termination, and you can be sure, it is a connection I have savored often on my CD player. The production is more than an introduction to a neglected composer, it is a metaphorical picnic with a talented musician, whose ability with the instrument leaves me eager to be hungry for the next encounter.
     Antigoni Goni deserves a lot of credit for sharing the bounty of these tune-hills in sunset which end as a picnic might end, with a time of gathering things and departing the scene after the final track. The liner notes say this is Volume 1. There is every reason to savor this effort often, and to look forward to Volume 2!

By the cover and liner notes -- The Naxos Laureate Series promises a first recording by an artist worth a listen and guarantees a first class production, from what you see through what you hear. Front and rear covers are easy to read, though the picture seems more the "snapshot" than a "selling element" in the appearance equation. The artist poses sitting with her back to a daylit window, appearing to react against the instrument rather than embracing it while gazing at the photographer.   and the back explains the story behind the Laureate Series and the early success of Martha Masters. Liner notes present 1.5 pages about the composers and half a page about Masters in English, followed by translations of the composers' information in French and Spanish.
      By the notes -- There's a "large" sound to this production, compared to a more intimate studio sound. It's the difference between speaking in an uncarpeted meeting hall and speaking in a living room. The slight reverberation, like an aftertaste, but not an echo, works well, imparting a mellow richness. Tansman's Cavatina is a fine opening track with a moderately paced Preludio that "sets the table," for a serious approach to the courses which follow. It maintains that melodic aesthetic through the five movements.
       And continues it with Bach, whom, history tells us, was not a party animal.  The composer's grandeur, presented by Masters' well-practiced hands,  is well revealed in the church setting.
      Notes author John Duarte states that the 12th track is Sor's "signature piece," and it's easy to appreciate why. The ear is elevated from the depths of minors' ore to a sprightly, upbeat tableau. True, there are tempered moments in the middle, but we know we're going to return to the romp and savor some more well-played, humorous variations before it's over.
     The moodiest piece (There IS a method to her moodness.) matches the bleak Finnish landscape. One can almost hear the notes echoing through high-crested mountains in the stark winter. Crystal clean technique; not a thunk or buzz in the 9:39 duration. If you've had a hard day at work, you may want to skip this track; it won't help you feel better, though it may quiet your soul.
     Ponce's Theme Varie et Finale is also played on Julie Goldberg's Dulce CD (first review on this page). Masters plays as much from the heart as from the notes, more the the ride down a free-flowing stream than a voyage down a canal.
      The final track by Rodrigo reprises and encasulates the transcendant raison detre of this CD. You want to hear what this recording is about? Listen to the last track first then you have it. But it's more fun to listen from the start to finish because the mind's ear enjoys the scenery with greater sense of engagement and discovery. Masters shares the agenda with Tansman, delivers the goods and finally tells us what she just told us with Rodrigo. It's a well considered effort and well worth the trip. 

BRAVO the difference twixt the Laureate cover and the cover of Serenade! The artist appears as a punky black leather rocker, confident and ready to share some memorable melodies. Though the four pages of notes provide only a timed list of contents, as on the back cover and acknowlegements of copyright holders for a few of the pieces played, followed by a page four review of her achievements, the additional picture s of Masters reinforce her new aura. On page three, a lavendar-sweatered Masters looks right into the camera. Here is an artist who intends to ENGAGE the listener. And the page four pic shows her at "play" as she engages the instrument. Though some description of her talent -- to sell the CD -- might have been appropriate to share with a potential purchaser who might read it under cellophane at the record store, the cover pic and list of selections tell the stranger all he or she needs to know, almost. Missing are birth and death years of the composers shared as in 1685 - 1750. Those dates would have given the lesser-schooled person a better idea of what kind of music is presented, but as long as you know the composers, you know the nature of their compositions. Still, the dates would have been good.  The cover picture goes a long way in arresting the eyes and motivating a closer look.
    By the notes: Opening with Bach suggests that Masters is not out to blaze new trails early in her promising career. Technically, she is right on target, and there is as much variation in emphasis and tempo as  J.S. (and I don't mean Lovin' Spoonful J.S.) himself would have tolerated. The Allegro is particularly adroitly unleashed.
   As Coste's second track plays, I am struck by the attention required to appreciate this CD.  When I remember a local classical guitarist flourishing out classical guitar music  at a local reception as though ladling stew into bowls of souls who probably saw him more vividly than heard him, I wonder how a person listening to this fine production could do anything BUT listen to it. This is not a "music for dusting the living room" CD. It's not even a "music for writing a review by" though the two are necessarily linked as I write this review. This is a "music for cranking up the volume and closing your eyes and focusing your head between the speakers" CD.
     The Schubert and Mertz selections are lobs, appropriately positioned between more powerful serves, well played light fare. Rodrigo brings us back, his moody, ethereal moan very well delivered.
    Johanson's Variations plays 44 seconds shorter on this CD than on Masters' Laureate Series introduction to the world. This CD's studio sound works for this version, the precision of the notes coming through without the "twang" of the earlier rendition. It's a haunting piece, well done.
    The silence after the final note of Johanson is deafening. At a concert, we would be roused from our cozy fog by thunderous applause, some of it our own. But with the CD and the quietude of fortress living room, the mind is inclined to linger awhile. The world will wait.
    Congratulations to Martha Masters for Serenade,  a tour de her force and a CD I'm sure will be played often.   
      

By the cover -- Believe it or not, this reviewer has never walked away from a CD and not purchased it because of a hard-to-read type font. I buy the CD for the music. But the readability of the cover matters for the same reason it's hard to enjoy a movie when you have the hiccups. One should not have to suffer the burden of such a distraction. The listing of the music on the back cover is the victim of this artistic mis-cue of font, and since it's the only mention of contents with times noted, one's eyes are mired in this font while following the music as it plays. I'd rather have the hiccups.
   Everything else on the covers and notes benefits from fine font choices and easy readability. Johns himself wrote the descriptions of what he plays on the two inside pages, and there's a page four description of his credentials and achievements as well.
  Final point: the liner notes seem to have been written before the recording was produced. The notes do not follow the order of presentation on the CD; hence that impression.

By the note -- The recording equipment is well placed for this effort. Absent is the slight reverb that sometimes accompanies in-church recordings. Johns seems to play close to the bridge on the opening five traditional lute pieces, and the twang of the sound is probably intentional. I am betting, based on my appreciation of the man's scholastic prowess, that this is close to how the lute sounded.
   That element is not continued in the very mellow selection that follows.The selections are pleasant-to-the-heart music. Not "classical lite" but not dark and despondent, either. The quiet moments in the Danza Espanola seem a little plodding as though the artist was focusing on notes and not the mood. Still it's nicely played.
   Bach's Prelude is as crisp at a harpsichord but richer in its resonance. The rest of Bach is the same: all pretty much close-to-the-bridge action, and because I have not approached the mastery of the instrument which Johns has achieved, the only reason I can figure for that mega-treble sound is because old JSB wanted it that way.
   It's hard to believe that the Villa-Lobos which follows was played on the same instrument. It is Johns' instrument and considerable talent at the max. The music is a change from the top of the soul; a musical trek into the depths, well played. Ditto the Torroba and the Debussy.
   From the back cover, it will likely come as a surprise for readers to learn that while it may be true that Jay Ungar has not died, it may be deduced, also, that he has not been born. Even so, the popular composition made immortal in Ken Burns' fab PBS The Civil War series is a breath of fresh melody, the most contemporary tune on this CD though it "speaks" of our mid 19th century. Very well played with an inventive approach via harmonics at the end.
    Hearing Guinaraes so well played, probably the happiest melody on this CD, I can't help wishing I were part Brazilian for the music and part Tennesseean for the artistry in sharing it.
   The Terzi selection which caps this production is especially appropriate for the focus of this CD with a wide range of tempo and culminating quietude. It's a feel-good way to end this tour of truly diverse moods, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. When it ended, I wanted to hear more. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either.
    Kudos to John Johns and production troupe for good music, nicely delivered.

By the cover:
        The more formally dressed artist pictured here is a more accurate visage of Johns the scholar than his second album, and the contents of covers and notes are emminently more readable than those of his Diverse Moods release. Despite the catalog number suggesting this is his first CD, the print part of this ensemble of sight and sound suggest it is a second production. The impression is underscored in the 4 pages of notes written by Johns, a telling photograph that shows guitar and formal attire, but not the musician's face,  a short review of his performing achievements and the page of comments from reviewers. The back cover of the case is very easy to read, though dates of composers played are not included. Composer dates are mentioned in his descriptions of the music. Total play time is just short of 40 minutes, about 20 minutes shy of the duration of most classical guitar CDs this reviewer has encountered. Regardless of the length of the production, the quality of first class sound is generous.

By the notes:
    First notes played are soulful, smooth and while not moody, let the listener know that this is a no-nonsense production. If Bach's Fugue seems to ride the fence between deliberate, decisive pacing and plodding, it's not because Johns can't crank up a tempo because he does so well and appropriately for the concluding Allegro.
    His description of Mendelsohn's Songs Without Words reveal a lot that I would have not appreciated without them. I was left wondering why "guitarists should take great care in transcribing Romantic (era) piano music..." I was very impressed with how Johns had accomplished that task.
   Nobody's going to walk away from this CD whistling Richard Rodney Bennett's Impromptus. These abstract blurts of mood still touch the listener the way a touch to the tongue with samples of vinegar and jalapeno reach a curious diner. If one concurs with Johns' descriptions of the Mendelsohn pieces as "miniatures," one would likely regard these movements as microbursts.  And that's okay. This CD is not a thematic cassarole; it is a cornucopia of distinct, unconnected entities, served competently in a recital hall.
    Johns really hits the bullseye with his Villa-Lobos, especially the Etude No. 11in E minor; powerfully played, slicker than a greased politician's opinion!
    No other CD I have heard and reviewed has left me with such a passionate appreciation for the classical guitar played right as this production, particularly in the final two tracks. Leo Brouwer's Lento and Obstinato in his Elogio de la Danza are a one-two punch that -- in the right place and time -- can knock the attentive listener's ears right off their feet, so to speak.
    This CD is a great way to become acquainted with a classical guitarist with ties to the supreme "Nashville cat" of them all.  This reviewer would love to know more about how Chet Atkins, whom Johns described following a Springfield performance as a friend, influenced this classical artist. Not a trace of musical influence appears in this CD, but still it would be interesting of John Johns, when the classroom is empty at Blair, and the room is dark and quiet, ever belts out a hybrid rendition of Windy and Warm.  Congratulations to John Johns and associates for a well done production!
   
To visit  Artists in Review, Page 2, click  here
Return to Classical 6 Images main page here
Return to Job Conger's Arts Round Table here
 
Return to Arts Links here