TRAD. KOREAN: Arirang; LINNEMANN: Juliette; TRAD. ECUADOREAN: Llaki Shingulla: TRAD. CHINESE : Parting at Yang Guan; Hujia Variations; Chao Yuan Song; TRAD IRISH: The Lark in the Clear Air; The Coulin: TRAD ITALIAN: Il Lamento di Tristano / Rota: TRAD ENGLISH: Ductia: CONDIN: Liebeslied: VILLA – LOBOS: Distribuicao de Flores: TRAD GREEK: Minstrels: GRANADOS : Oriental.
Hucky Eichelmann (guitars) and Richard Harvey (Xiao, Bansri,Panpipes, Clarinet, Mandolin, Soprano Saxophone, Psaltery, Recorders, Ocarina, Irish Whistles, Bawu and Percussion)
Asia Music International: AMA CD 2001-05 https://amithailand.com/EN/
Going hand in hand with this duo’s first – class DVD, reviewed elsewhere, this has to be one of the most beautiful, fascinating, and wonderful CDs it has ever been my joy to listen to. Just a glance at the repertoire within will show you just how hugely varied it all is, but the proof is listening to the performances of this engaging music. All the traditional tunes, which make up the vast majority of this set ) are just amazingly emotional in their content, from the almost other – worldly sounding oriental folk tunes, to the lovely Ecuador tune Llaki Shingulla, and then to the Irish, and the English melodies that inhabit their own sound world. It always makes me feel quite sad that all these traditional tunes were composed by someone in the dim and distant past, and yet we will never know who they were, which is such a moving thing to consider, as it would be spectacular to know, for example who wrote the Korean tune Arirang, or indeed any of the other haunting melodies that we have to call’ Traditional’.
As for the composers that we can celebrate on this recording the Villa – Lobos is always great to hear, as is one of my favourite pieces Granados’ Oriental, no matter how it is arranged from its original piano, and here this one by Hucky Eichelmann is beautifully done, and sounds just as involving and timeless as it should do.
I cannot praise this CD too highly. Richard Harvey’s playing of all his various instruments is a real eye – opener, and of course Hucky Eichelmann’s guitar is effortless and sounding gorgeous throughout. The recordings are all very clear and indeed the whole package is one to treasure. So if you are only going to buy one CD this month, then this is the one for you!
Chris Dumigan