The Music of Bret Williams – CD review

Bret Williams is a funny guy. He’s friendly but edgy, likes to push the envelope in his podcast interviews. Here’s a couple of quotes from his website: “I don’t play strings not made by D’Addario. I’d rather die.” Or, “I hate Apple’s recording software, but I love the head of University of Washington’s guitar department, Michael Partington.” So this music is not what I expected. Williams’ music is sweet rather than ironic, it’s lyrical and nostalgic rather than biting and bitchy. It’s downright beautiful. Melody is king on this disc and the lovely interweaving of each line carries me through the whole CD time and again. The titles are worthy of comment: Pick That Up, Please; I Remember Dancing; and my favorite You’ll Tear Your Dress. While these come from Bret’s love of humor and irony, [that sometimes verges on vulgarity] they betray a love of the common, the mundane, the daily life of a Joe in New York City. But one who is not jaded by the need to conform to a style. Bret has created his own style. And it’s daring is to say, “I dare to love;” “I dare to laugh at myself;” “I dare to wear my heart on my sleeve.” “I dare to write beautiful music!”

This is a rare and fresh piece of work. It’s not daring in the sense of way out experimental music, dissonant harmonies or incessant repetition. But it is daring that one composer has chosen to write so much music for one unusual ensemble. And a nice one it is! With guitar, violin, clarinet and bass, Williams manages to use every instrument (except the bass) in every role he can conjure: solo, accompaniment, duets, dialogues. There is always a fresh texture and new rhythmic groove. Only the bass stays in its relatively typical role of being bass – usually plucking, or is it always, hmm, have to listen again…

I have just completed an interview with French composer Pascal Jugy who is about to release a CD of flute and ten-string guitar music and both have much in common. Both clearly love life and show that through an underlying pop/jazz feel. Through melody. I dare say Bret’s music is almost cabaret in style – a touch of the elegant Parisienne. It’s intimate and caring. It’s flirtatious. It says, “Have a seat and enjoy a glass of wine in the sunshine.”

Towards the end of the CD, I did want to hear something distraught, pissy or pissed off. A little anger, an argument, “Hey Bret, your music sucks, wanta fight?!” Or: Hey Jerk, You Spilled My Milk. But that’s just me and maybe it will come next time. I hope there is a next time, with or without spilled milk. We need more guitarists willing to join forces with other instruments and make a statement, commit to a new sound. We need more composers to care about guitar ensembles. We need to try new sounds and break away from the ordinary. This album is proof that one can do that without being weird or controversial, yet still new and relevant.

I have to end with another quote from Bret, “Why don’t you buy a CD from me? You can buy it from iTunes too, but Apple doesn’t care about me. They only care about themselves. You’ll also find me on all your favorite streaming services if you prefer to kill art in America.”  http://www.bretwilliamsmusic.com/

Do It!

Frank Wallace
www.frankwallace.com

PS – I sent this review to Bret and invited his response before publication. I thought there might be some further dialogue that could be interesting…here it is:

Holy shit Frank.

You almost made me cry in public. This is amazing. You should be writing at the Times and teaching at Juilliard. Let me know where you decide to post it. Feel free to post my response.

Bret

My response to Bret: Cluster Pluck, by Frank Wallace, from a new collection of seven short works entitled Film Scores, click on the title to read more and purchase. A free copy of Cluster Pluck and Sweet Betrayal is in the Sample PDF on that page. Keep your eyes peeled for a Movie Contest coming up this summer.

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Post Date May 21, 2015

Recent and coming performances

Performances of music by Frank Wallace, all available for purchase here at www.gyremusic.com

Last fall — Mark Davis played A Heavy Sleep and On the Sol, en Mi at Hingham Pulbic Library and has played the pieces at other local venues; The Bridgewater State College Guitar Ensemble under Dan Acsadi and the Hartt School Guitar Orchestra under Christopher Ladd both played New England Sextets

January 10 — The first NH All-State Guitar Ensemble gave the world premiere of Spring Symphony

January 23 — The Boston Guitar Orchestra under direction of Scott Borg performed Spring Symphony as a prelude to Sharon Isbin’s Boston concert`

February 4 — Josh Nakama played From the Windy Place at the Hartt School in Hartford CT

February 7 — Jarring Sounds performed Speak Love in San Francisco

March 4 — Frank Wallace will perform Passing in the Night and Black Falcon at his guest faculty recital at Keene St. College, Keene NH

March 12 — Mare Duo will present two works off of their Gargoyles CD, Night Owl and White Albatross, in Eutin/Germany

March 25 — Nick Ciraldo‘s students at Univ of So. Miss play Sketches for Two

April 15 — the Keene State College Guitar Ensemble will perform Spring Symphony under the direction of Frank Wallace

April 23 — Mare Duo again plays Night Owl and White Albatross, at the Long Island Guitar Festival

April 26 and May 10 — Atlanta Guitar Guild performs Spring Symphony under the direction of Amy Ashley and Timothy Allen

May 30 — Marshall Willner debuts Enfin for percussion and guitar

June 12 & 27 — Biedermeier Duo: Nikolaos Kapnas (violin), Bo Isholm (guitar) at the Summartonar Festival in the Faroe Islands

June 19, 20, & 21 — Mare Duo plays Night Owl and White Albatross, at the Summartonar Festival in the Faroe Islands

June 23-28 — Scott Borg will direct Spring Symphony with the 2015 GFA Youth Ensemble

September 2015 — Krystin O’Mara will release her second CD including Black Falcon

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Post Date February 19, 2015

The Guitar Symphony

Spring Symphony for guitar orchestra will receive its second performance on January 23rd, 2015 by the Boston Guitar Orchestra, Scott Borg conductor, as a prelude to Sharon Isbin’s concert for the Boston Classical Guitar Society, First Lutheran Church of Boston, 7:30pm; 299 Berkeley St., Boston, MA.

My orientation to the guitar is through the voice and choral music. The guitar is an extension of my voice: I can speak, I can sing, I can recite poetry with the guitar. I think this came from two experiences: 1) growing up in the sixties, loving every form of band from Peter, Paul and Mary to the Supremes to the Beatles, all with lead vocals and wonderful harmonies; 2) my audition to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music made it clear that I could NOT sing and I was required to take voice lessons to aid in getting through sight-singing classes. It changed my life, I have sung ever since, often with a guitar, lute or vihuela in hand. When I change colors in my solo playing, I feel it as a vocal expression of different vowels and consonants, a constant flow of subtle gradation of tone and personal story.

When I began to write Spring Symphony for the NH All-State Guitar Ensemble, I wanted the guitar to do something special, something big, bold and bright. I realized my model needed to be different than a four-part chorus or a harmonized melody and accompaniment. A gentle flow of colors would not be as dramatic as I envisioned. I wanted the grandness of a full symphony orchestra that achieves colors through different families of instruments. We guitarists achieve color by changing attack on the string, sul tasto or sul ponticello, or by the number of notes we play. With a 4-part guitar orchestra, I had 24 strings to use and I wanted to use them in as many ways as possible while keeping to a fairly conservative language and tonality.

In my inner ear, the upper voices as accented chord became trumpets, high melody could be flutes, violins or oboes, the mid-range melodies might be clarinets or cellos; full chords are the string section, low pizzicato is the contra bass section. While the rhythms of this piece are complex, they fit together to create colors as in a symphonic work. When the parts scramble around in short bursts, they are like the percussion section. Of course in a symphony, it is the contrast of these colors which can happen separately or together that make it compelling and different from the experience of an intimate solo work. That is what I hope to have achieved with Spring Symphony. I look forward to the day when guitar orchestras play mostly original music conceived with all its native sounds in full glory.

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Post Date January 15, 2015

Fanfare’s David DeBoor Canfield reviews Wallace CDs Gargoyles and Elemental

WALLACE The Elements. Black Falcon. Passing in the Night. A Heavy Sleep. Sonata One — Frank Wallace (gtr) — GYRE (62:06)

WALLACE Gargoyles. Nocturne. The Coming of Arthur. White Albatross. Night Owl. New England Quartets — Mare Duo; Anne Wolf (man); Kristina Lisner (man); Melanie Hunger (man); Thomas Kolarczyk (db) — GYRE   (63:19)

I would hazard a guess that unlike most other instruments, the majority of those who have composed for the guitar have also played the instrument to one degree or the other. This is due to the difficulty of writing playable music for the instrument barring some degree of knowledge of its technical capabilities. Thus, in the first disc of the two under review here, the reader is afforded the opportunity of hearing a recital of music by the composer-performer guitarist, Frank Wallace. In this case, the composer is the equal of the performer, or vice versa, and both are very good.

Because of the tuning of the instrument (normally from bottom to top, E-A-D-G-B-E), much music for this instrument is written in guitar-friendly keys, such as E Minor or D Major. The reason is simple: Music in certain keys is easier to play, and music of extended tonality or atonality is much trickier. From the very beginning of the solo CD, Wallace proves that he is not limited to the diatonic keys involving frequent use of the open strings. The first movement of the opening work, The Elements, is entitled “Fire,” and it involves some quite complex sonorities, interspersed with chords that utilize the open strings to provide a greater resonance than is achieved through stopped notes and chords. The effect is dramatic and very evocative. The movements of this suite, which also includes “Earth,” “Air,” and “Water,” are obviously derived from the four elements of the ancient Greeks, thought to be the components of all matter. Wallace uses these “elements” in a poetic fashion to depict the creation of the world–the initial explosion, the congealing of the ground, and so forth. Whether the listener would get any of this simply from hearing the piece is beside the point. The work exudes drama, and sustains interest throughout.

A Heavy Sleep draws its inspiration from the well-known Nocturnal of Benjamin Britten, by now ensconced as a staple of the guitar repertory. Commissioned on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the composer, this work evokes the Britten’s masterpiece through its textures, gestures and harmonic language. Sounds of the night are plentiful, but the work is not soporific in its effect: I stayed awake and quite interested throughout! Black Fountain, based on the octatonic scale, and a commission by guitarist Edel Muñoz, exhibits a bit more Spanish flavor in its quasi-flamenco rhythms and chords, but retains Wallace’s distinctive compositional voice.

The Bells consists of three preludes that exhibit Wallace’s experimentation in more dissonant sonorities. The latter two pieces in the set are also based upon the letters of their respective dedicatees’ names. Sonata One, on the other hand, is described by its composer as utilizing a “romantic 12-tone style.” This work was inspired by memories that the composer had of the influential LP by Julian Bream, “20th Century Guitar Music,” a disc which contained music by Britten, Smith Brindle, Martin, and Henze. Judging by the number of copies of this LP I’ve seen as a dealer, it must have sold very well, and influenced a lot of other guitarists and composers. Two virtuosic and note-rich outer movements flank a quiet “Grave” interior movement that produces much of its effect from changes in the kind of plucking of the strings that is called for. The use of different parts of the finger, or plucking closer to, or further away from the bridge of the instrument all contribute to this variety in color. The CD concludes with a moving tribute written on the passing of Wallace’s 94-year-old father, and commemorates him by depicting his love of travel, various activities, and fondly remembered sayings. The last movement, “I’m still your pappy,” includes some very non-guitar-like sounds, which must have been produced by striking various parts of the instrument.

The second CD, entitled “Gargoyles” after one of the pieces on it, combines guitar with various numbers of mandolins. If you, the purchaser of this CD, can figure out which performers on the second CD play in which pieces (Wallace himself does not play on this disc), you either have better eyes or more patience–or both–than do I. Suffice it to say that the Mare Duo, comprised of mandolinist Annika Hinsche and guitarist Fabian Hinsche, play on the majority of the works here included. Given that the mandolin is, unlike the guitar, a rather mono-chromatic instrument (most of its music consists either of plucked single lines or tremolo on notes or chords), I was not expecting to enjoy this CD as much as the solo guitar. I was quite surprised, therefore, to find myself enjoying these works every bit as much Wallace’s solo guitar works. Indeed, the range of moods and colors he extracts from the combination of guitar and mandolin(s), with occasional recourse to a double bass, is quite astonishing. The soft tremolo passages of the mandolin in the background allow the guitar to paint upon an exquisite canvas. The louder tremolos are more akin to tremolo passages in violins or other bowed string instruments, and can and do produce palpable excitement. Then, too, Wallace finds some colors on the mandolin that I had yet to encounter. In With a Wink his Dream was Changed, for instance, he calls for his mandolin performers to employ a technique that makes the mandolin sound very much like a harpsichord with the lute stop engaged, a really interesting sound. The quick juxtaposition of single plucked notes and tremolo in Night Owl was further evidence of this composer’s imagination. There was even a quick glissando in this work, something I’ve never heard on a mandolin previously.

Part of the interest in the music on this CD is the stylistic variety that the composer uses from one piece to the next, or sometimes even within the same piece. One hears everything ranging from firm tonality in Gargoyles to mysterious sonorities in White Albatross to dramatic contrasts in The Coming of Arthur. Some of the works exhibit a sort of almost Baroque counterpoint, while others use extended chordal technique to make their effect. The variety is such that my interest never flagged for a moment during the course of the CD, a fact abetted by the consummate skill of all the performers. One hears some really virtuoso playing during the course of these two CDs.

Although these two well-recorded CDs will unquestionably appeal to collectors of music on plucked instruments, I believe that their value will also be recognized by repertory collectors generally, and on that basis can give them a firm recommendation. David DeBoor Canfield

 

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Post Date December 11, 2014

Fanfare Reviews

from Fanfare Nov/Dec 2014 ; Robert Schulslaper

WALLACE The Elements. A Heavy Sleep. Black Falcon. The Bells. Sonata One. Passing in the Night • Frank Wallace (gtr) • GYRE 10172 (62:06)

WALLACE Gargoyles. Nocturne. The Coming of Arthur. White Albatross. Night Owl. New England Quartets • Annika Hinsche;Anne Wolf; Kristina Lisner; Melanie Hunger (man); Fabian Hinsche (gtr); Thomas Kolarczyk (b) • GYRE 10202 (63:19)

Frank Wallace admits to an existential restlessness, a state that continually leads him into new creative byways: Elemental and Gargoyles survey some of what he’s discovered en route. Fire, first of The Elements, imparts a feeling of strength, rigor, and uncompromising adherence to Wallace’s personal atonal vocabulary but retains sufficient “gravitational attraction” to hold the listener. In other words, it sustains a connection to traditional predecessors while staking out new territory. Wallace cultivates a full-throated approach to dynamics—he doesn’t make a fetish out of tone, per se, as some guitarists are inclined to do. That doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of a loving appreciation of it: the second movement of Sonata One, Water’s flowing “liquidity,” and numerous tender moments scattered throughout his works show him to be a musician with complete mastery of his instrument’s timbral resources. But he also frequently employs a ringing, almost metallic sonority that imparts a granitic emphasis. Hence the “strength.” As I’ve tried to indicate, this tendency is not uniformly present: while it can be heard in the first movement of Sonata One, the concluding Prestissimo from the same piece softens the severity through injections of tonal melody. Familiar guitaristic devices—tremolo, for example— also serve as ingratiating “invitations.” The energetic I’m Still Your Pappy, from Passing in the Night, takes these elements into yet more accessible terrain. The Moorishly evocative Black Falcon stands somewhat apart from its disc mates, yet it bears Wallace’s stamp in its form, its carefully spaced silences, and forceful repetition of key ideas, episodically lightened by harmonics, triplet figures, and allusive strumming.

Gargoyles (the CD), finds Wallace writing for mandolins, singly or in concert (mandolin duo or mandolin quintet) and guitar. The fleet, silvery mandolins are an attractive foil for the guitar’s deeper, more prolonged resonance: Runs sparkle and tones can be indefinitely prolonged via tremolos. While a fair amount of the music is tonal/modal, with an occasional Celtic presence (The Coming of Arthur), White Albatross provides “gestural” counterpoint (see interview). Even so, abstraction shares the stage with more “human” material; the moving finale put me in mind of Britten’s Nocturnal, not through any particular motivic resemblance, but for the way its soulful concord resolves the preceding turbulance/discord with artful simplicity. Night Owl, Part 1, for mandolin solo, is mysterious, spacious, and segues surprisingly into a brief reminiscence of the Renaissance. Night Owl, Part 2 is more energetic, with running figures and strumming generating momentum and dramatic contrast. Occasional interjections in both parts may represent the frightening shrieks that Wallace referred to in our conversation.

Although these two CDs provide a fairly comprehensive introduction to Wallace’s style, if not his complete oeuvre, I should point out that his approximately one hundred songs for voice, which include intricate guitar/lute accompaniments, are very dear to him. He’s set himself the task of revitalizing the art song as practiced during the Renaissance, when composers like Dowland chose the lute to support the voice in works whose fusion of poetry and music represent a high point in Western culture (seven of Wallace’s song cycles may be heard on Woman of the Water, Gyre 10082 and The Great Deep, Gyre 10102). To further tempt readers to sample Wallace’s music, I’d like to mention Joy, a charming album of Christmas carols new and old which I favorably reviewed in Fanfare: 32:2. Guitar connoisseurs will surely like to know that on Elemental Wallace plays one of two Hausers commissioned by Andrés Segovia: Wallace recounts the absorbing story of its fifty year journey into his hands in the liner notes. Robert Schulslaper

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Post Date December 8, 2014

SUMMER SUNDAYS 2014

MORE INFORMATION | MAKE DONATION

Three Sunday afternoon concerts featuring classical guitar will take place in the scenic NE village of Hillsborough Center. The performers are distinguished professionals from around New England. All concerts are at 3:00pm in the Hillsborough Center Congregational Church, 25 East Washington Rd. Hillsborough, NH. Suggested donation at the door is $15; or make a donation online at our website to reserve seats; suggested advance payment: $12 for individual events or $30 for all three concerts; proceeds will benefit the church maintenance fund. Events are sponsored by Gibson Pewter, Gyre Music, The Gallery at Well Sweep and Sissi Art Studio. Note: no facilities are at the church, but please visit the many restaurants in downtown Hillsboro and the beautiful studios of our sponsors in Hillsborough Center. Picnicking on the lawn before hand is encouraged. Call (917) 693-5602 for reservations and information.

Sunday July 27, 3pm
David Newsam, guitar and Margaret Herlehy, oboe
Professors of music at UNH
music of Latin America with compositions by Celso Machado, Astor Piazzolla, Máximo Diego Pujol, Pixinguinha, and others

Sunday August 10, 3pm
Christopher Ladd, solo guitar
Chair of guitar department at Hartt School
Music by Frank Wallace, Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, Agustin Barrios, Andrew York, Nigel Westlake

Sunday August 24, 3pm
Mark and Beverly Davis, guitar duo
Directors of the Providence Mandolin Orchestra and New American Mandolin Ensemble
Music by V. Kioulaphides, A. York, M. Linnemann, and E. Flower

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Post Date July 30, 2014

SF’s Guerrilla Composers Guild

Gyre Music is proud to be a sponsor of Phonochromaticism, a concert of new music presented by Guerrilla Composers Guild in San Francisco this Thursday. “The Guerrillas were founded in San Francisco in 2012 by a few unruly souls, and serves to keep its finger on the pulse of the new music scene and promote both creation and listening.” I met one of the central figures through a series of Tweets recently and was impressed with the work Nick Benavides and his friends are doing. Read more at their website.

I grew up south of SF and attended the SF Conservatory of Music, so I definitely left a piece of my heart there (all references intended)(it was the time of Fillmore West!). It has been a thrill in the last couple of years to write a piece for the Mobius Trio and to get to know several young guitar and voice duos. San Francisco has become more and more an important center of the guitar – there is long-time chair of the Dept. and new-music innovator David Tannenbaum, Sergio Assad now teaches there, the OMNI concert series is one of the most successful in the country, many other successful teachers and performers, and there is a wealth of young ensembles: Mobius Trio, One Great City, Jarring Sounds, Duo Fado and others.

It’s a thrill to get just a little involved.

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Post Date May 28, 2014

Gyre CDs at Strings-by-Mail

Gyre is happy to announce several of our guitar solo CDs, including Elemental, are now for sale and on special at Strings-by-Mail, the popular string and accessory mail order site.

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Post Date April 17, 2014

wallace talks about composing & performs live on hauser I

Get a little window into my thinking about composing then enjoy a live performance from two years ago on the fantastic Hauser I that is featured on the new CD Elemental.

http://vimeo.com/90738743

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Post Date April 16, 2014

Watch the debut of As It Could Be

SATURDAY, April 12, 2014 at 7:30 pm,  the Hartt Guitar Department celebrates 50 years with an Anniversary Concert! Click here to connect to the live stream Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Join the Hartt School’s Guitar Department as is celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary. Featuring the world premiere of Frank Wallace’s As It Could Be with: Phenix Trio (Richard Provost, guitar; Rita Porfiris, Viola; Anton Miller Violin); Pandora Duo (Janet Arms Flute, Christopher Ladd Guitar); Alturas Duo (Scott Hill guitar, Carlos Boltes, viola/charango); Kaleidos (Yovianna Garcia, guitar, Sayun Chang, percussion); New England Guitar Quartet (Christopher Ladd, Dan Hartington, Nick Cutroneo, Jeremy Milligen).http://harttweb.hartford.edu/about/features/streaming.aspx

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Post Date April 10, 2014
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