THONGTOUCH: Rak Risya: GESANG: Bengawan Solo; ARAMPHEE: Namta Saeng Tai: AQUILAR: Anak: TRAD KOREAN: Arirang: TRAD.ENGLISH: Greensleeves: GOESLOW: Menghitung Hari: POLACHAN: Duan Phen: TARREGA: Lagrima (Prelude): TRAD NORTH THAI: Sao Mai; Long Mae Ping: H.M. KING NORODOM SIHANOUK: Brise de Novembre: TRAD TAIWANESE: Ping Jue: EICHELMANN: Meditation; With Love From Asia: TRAD SPANISH: Romance D’Amour: TRAD. GREEK: Minstrels: CHOUNRAMANY: Cham Par Meuang Lao: PETZOLD: Menuet: BACH: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring: TRAD.THAI: Lao Duang Duen: CONDIN: Love Song No2.
Hucky Eichelmann
AMI Records: AMI 2020-01 https://amithailand.com/EN/
The title of this beautifully recorded Cd says it all. It isn’t often nowadays that I can look at a 22 track CD and only previously having known four of the pieces before receiving this batch of Hucky’s recordings, but such is the case here. To be honest I have been missing out, because everything on this CD is simply great music. Arirang, the traditional Korean piece has quickly become a huge favourite of mine but it is almost churlish to pick one track out, as they are all fabulous. The opening track Rak Risya written by Sangna Thongtouch , sounds almost American traditional, as if it was a cowboy tune, as does Sang-na Aramphee’s beautiful Namta Saeng Tai, both lovely arrangements .Freddy Aquilar is a musician from the Phillipines and his lovely Anak, is almost a piece that Ralph McTell might have conjured up. The Greensleeves is the arrangement by Siegfried Behrend, whilst the following Menghitung Hari by Melly Goeslow is very song – like, very legato, and hauntingly harmonized. The beautiful Traditional Northern Thai Melody Sao Mai has a lovely tremolo arrangement and like Arirang is one of the absolute highlights of the CD, as is the other such melody Long Mae Ping that begins with harmonics and one of those wonderful oriental melodies that stay with you for ages. How often do you hear a piece written by a King? Not too often I imagine, but here is Brise de Novembre written by His Majesty King Norodon Sihanouk, and arranged by Hucky, and very haunting it is too. His own Meditation is, as the title suggests, thoughtful, quiet and beautiful in sound.The Menuet by Christian Petzold is an interesting find, because this seventeenth century piece is one I always thought was by Bach, but maybe I am wrong in that assumption, although I remember it being in one of Bach’s books, so maybe he took it as his own. This follows nicely onto Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring which is a lovely arrangement by Hucky with all the harmony notes that you hear in the original but in other arrangements for guitar often find are missing. This one puts them all back, with great effect.
This is a beautiful CD, in every meaning of the word. The playing is flawless, and emotional, as are all the pieces on it. The fact that you won’t know 90% of them is irrelevant. This is a CD to treasure.
Chris Dumigan