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MP3 Melbourne Guitar Quartet - Toccata
11 MP3 Songs in this album (52:32) !
Related styles: Classical: Chamber Music, Easy Listening: Adult contemporary, Featuring Guitar
People who are interested in John Williams LAGQ Los Angles Guitar Quartet should consider this download.
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''Toccata'' - Melbourne Guitar Quartet
‘...a brilliant addition to Australia’s musical landscape... exactly what the classical guitar world needs...’ Slava Grigoryan, 2010
''...a rhythmic groove that would put many percussion ensembles to shame...
a joy to hear such technical excellence and attention to detail...''
Nigel Westlake, 2010
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565)
The Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 by JS Bach is perhaps his most famous keyboard work, popularized to virtual cult status by numerous rock bands and in film score repertories. But research by Bach scholar Peter Williams casts doubt about its provenance, suggesting that it may have been authored by another composer post-1750, or that it is a transcription (transposed from the original A minor) of a violin piece (the fugue subject may have been borrowed from Pachelbel). MGQ’s adaptation for four guitars adds another marvelous take on this great music: its opening gesture alone ranks with the first phrases of Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra as a summons from a mythological realm.
Dr Donna Coleman August 2010 - Artistic Advisor
Concerto No. 8 in A minor from ‘L’estro Armonico’ Op. 3 RV 522 for two violins, strings and continuo -Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) arr. Benjamin Dix
First published in 1711, Vivaldi’s L’estro Armonico arguably remains one of the composer’s most celebrated collection of concerto’s for violin, second only to Vivaldi’s epic ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ the Four Seasons. Comprising of 12 concertos, Vivaldi’s ‘harmonic inspiration’ is divided into four groups of three, each consisting of a single, double and quadruple concerto; representing a diverse cross-section and variety of Vivaldi’s writing.
As one of the main protagonists of the fast-slow-fast ‘Italian Concerto’ style, Vivaldi’s Concerto No.8 is an evocative tapestry of vibrant energetic orchestral passages, eloquent melodies and brilliant sparkling arpeggios. The bold and highly rhythmic first movement is nothing less than characteristic of Vivaldi’s writing, refined melodies and shimmering arpeggios dance between strong tutti passages. Gentle dialogue between the two soloists brings welcomed repose in the slow movement, as melodic lines delicately dance above the more punctuated ostinato. The return to vigorous orchestral passages and driving solo lines, interspersed with glistening arpeggios provides a finale fitting for the end of any concerto.
Ben Dix July 2010
Omphalo Centric Lecture - Nigel Westlake (1958*) arr. Antony Field
The title comes from a painting by Swiss artist Paul Klee - the direct & centered simplicity of which was an inspiration to me during the writing of this piece. The piece also owes much to African Balofon (or xylophone) music, with its persistent ostinati, cross - rhythms & variations on simple melodic fragments. Like African music, it seeks to celebrate life through rhythm, energy & movement.
Omphalo Centric Lecture was originally composed in 1984 for the Sydney based percussion quartet Synergy, and is now one of the most frequently performed works in the percussion repertoire, having received literally thousands of performances by prominent percussion ensembles around the world.
Curiously, Omphalo has also been adapted to a multitude of weird and wonderful instrumentations, including US college drum lines (see Youtube), steel bands, jazz groups, and Indian percussion, however to my knowledge this is the first recording by a guitar quartet and I am indebted to the MGQ for their fresh interpretation, rhythmic vitality and a groove that would put many percussion ensembles to shame. In fact, I would never have imagined that Omphalo could work so well in this context, and it is testament to the MGQ’s perseverance, attention to detail and technical excellence that this performance sings with all the energy & joy that was the inspiration behind the original composition almost 30 years ago.
Nigel Westlake June 2010
Five Bagatelles - William Walton (1902-1983) arr. Jeremy Tottenham
I – Allegro
II – Lento - Tempo di Valse
III – Alla Cubana
IV - Sempre Espressivo
V – Con Slancio
It was the eminent British guitarist Julian Bream who commissioned Walton to write the Five Bagatelles for solo guitar. Written in celebration of Malcolm Arnold’s 50th birthday and premiered in London in 1972 by Bream, the Five Bagatelles have subsequently become a cornerstone of the solo repertoire. Exceedingly difficult for the soloist, the initial inspiration to arrange the Bagatelles for guitar quartet stemmed from a desire to hear the melodic lines played more clearly, free from the fiendish technical pyrotechnics required of the soloist as a result of the unidiomatic writing. However, after dividing the melodic content amongst four guitars I could not resist the temptation to embellish, ironically resulting in an extremely difficult, yet rich quartet arrangement. Walton’s wife obviously saw the potential for the embellishment of the Bagatelles too, encouraging her husband to later rearrange them for guitar and orchestra. From the jazz-infused Allegro to the virtuosic onslaught of the Con Slancio, the evergreen Five Bagatelles are heard here in a whole new light.
Jeremy Tottenham July 2010
Landscape - Robert Davidson (19__*) arr. Robert Davidson
Landscape was commissioned by Ensemble 24 and was premiered on their 2000 Asian tour. I rescored the piece for the Melbourne Guitar Quartet after being so taken with their recording of my Coonowrin. The area around the Glasshouse Mountains in southeast Queensland is the inspiration for the work. This is a landscape dominated by boldly shaped mountains, possessing for me a sense of great age and a certain violence - these mountains were once inside volcanoes. There is a great variety of topography in Landscape''s landscape, including large placid lakes, ocean, wide plains, rainforest and scrubby bush. The music reflects this diversity with a range of contrasting textures.
Dr Robert Davidson August 2010
Melbourne Guitar Quartet
For the Pythagoreans, the tetraktys represented harmony, truth, perfection, and justice, corresponding to the four elements, the four winds, the four phases of the moon, and furthermore described the three-dimensional space they believed encompassed the entire universe. The Melbourne Guitar Quartet continues a long tradition of ensembles comprising four musicians that includes quartets of viols, voices (chansons, madrigals, hymns, anthems, J.S. Bach chorale settings, “barbershop” quartets), and the string quartet. MGQ’s commitment to the exploration and perfection of the sonic universe of their “family” of guitars, encompassing a full five-plus octave range, places them on a par with the world’s great chamber ensembles, and they bring a fresh, vibrant perspective to all their repertory whether arrangements of traditional works originally composed for other instruments or premieres of commissioned new works.
Dr. Donna Coleman
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