The Soldier’s Return Guitar works inspired by Scotland James Akers romantic guitar RES10165 I’d like to dedicate this recording to the memory of my sister Lorraine Galloway The Soldier’s Return Fernando Sor (1778-1839) Guitar works inspired by Scotland 1. Variations on a Favourite Scottish Air, Op. 40 [7:07] Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) 2. The Soldier’s Return [4:25] Luigi Legnani (1790-1877) James Akers romantic guitar 3. Variations on Rossini’s ‘La Marcia’ (from La donna del Lago) [7:31] Mauro Giuliani 4. Prelude and Scotsoises (1) [4:05] 5. Blue Bells of Scotland [4:49] 6. Jenny’s Bawbee, A Reel [4:09] Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856) 7. Fingal’s Cave [4:40] Mauro Giuliani 8. Coming through the Rye [3:45] 9. Prelude and Scotsoises (2) [4:25] 10. This is no my ain Lassie [5:05] Luigi Legnani 11. Variations on Rossini’s ‘Oh Quante Lagrime’ About James Akers: (from La donna del Lago) [7:47] ‘A superb player’ Mauro Giuliani The Independent 12. The Old Country Bumpkin [3:03] ‘Wonderfully supple, propulsive and alive’ The Guardian Total playing time [61:00] The Soldier’s Return: Guitar works craft to describe this place, writing of it, ‘one inspired by Scotland of the most extraordinary places I ever beheld. It exceeded, in my mind, every description I In the early-nineteenth century, a wave of had heard of it [...] composed entirely of enthusiasm for Scottish literature, landscape basaltic pillars as high as the roof of a and music swept across Europe. Artists of cathedral, and running deep into the rock, the time turned away from the rational eternally swept by a deep and swelling sea, egalitarianism of the Enlightenment and paved, as it were, with ruddy marble, towards the darker rough-hewn individualism [it] baffles all description.’ of the Romantics. This trend found inspiration in the remote and austere landscapes of ‘Where words fail, music speaks’ (Hans the Scottish Highlands, in atmospheric folk Christian Andersen). Thus composers were tales revitalised by Sir Walter Scott in his obliged to portray this landscape in sound. novels and in the mellifluous songs and One of these was Johann Kaspar Mertz rhyme of the farmer poet Robert Burns. (1806-1856). A true romantic, Mertz suffered Those islands on the edge of the Atlantic from ill health, in the form of neuralgia, was must have seemed as remote and exotic a virtuoso guitarist and his most significant as the far-east to the creative figures work is called Bardenklänge or ‘Bardic revolutionising human expression in central Sounds.’ Mertz’s music was influenced by and southern Europe, their distant wildness the intense piano works of Schumann and a fitting metaphor for the exploration of Chopin and extended the emotional range the depths of the human psyche being of the guitar beyond its classical foundations. ells undertaken in art. His Fingalshöhle is based on a simple rising melody with a resonant arpeggiated Some ventured to explore the geography accompaniment that builds to a crashing y: Rudi W of Scotland. In 1829 the young Felix dark climax reminiscent of the stark aph Mendelssohn visited Edinburgh and was surroundings of the Hebridean shore. ogr inspired to write a Scottish Symphony and Phot his famous Hebrides Overture, also known Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) would appear as Die Fingalshöhle or Fingal’s cave, after a to be of a somewhat lighter character. Born sea cave on the uninhabited island of in southern Italy, in 1806 he left his Staffa. Sir Walter Scott, the pre-eminent impoverished homeland to seek his fortune word-smith of his day found it beyond his in the cultural capital of Europe, Vienna. Vienna was already home to Europe’s of charming trifles, even by those with reason exemplified by the works of Sir Walter Scott. this recording are two sets of variations on greatest living composer, Beethoven, a to champion his work, here he shows In literature, only Shakespeare has inspired themes from Rossini’s La donna del lago. true deity of Romanticism and a thriving extraordinary craftsmanship in adapting the more opera plots, with over ninety being One is based on a simple march, the other music scene. Here, within a short time, modal idiom of the Scottish folk tunes into the based on Scott’s work. The first of these on a virtuosic soprano aria, the cavatina, Giuliani’s concerts instigated a passion sophisticated musical language of the first was Rossini’s La donna del lago. Scott’s Oh Quante Lagrime. Both have very similar for the guitar among the Viennese Viennese school. Giuliani’s settings of these narrative poem The Lady of the Lake was structures, but express the possibilities of professional classes that kept him busy six tunes, including Hogmanay favourites hugely successful and influential in its day. their source material differently, in sympathy performing, teaching and composing for such as The Bluebells of Scotland and Coming It inspired a revival of interest in the clan with the nature of the originals. Rossini’s much of his adult life. through the Rye, manage to fuse the disparate culture of the Scottish Highlands, provided Oh Quante Lagrime is an extrovert vehicle elements into a unified whole. The results the original text of Franz Schubert’s Ave for vocal display. Legnani’s variations are Giuliani’s style is simpler than that of are charming, enlivening and, at times, Maria and gave Gioachino Rossini’s equally demanding of the guitarist. The Mertz. With the melodic grace, tonal deeply moving. librettist, Andrea Leone Tottola, the melody is set in various registers from alto harmonies and march rhythms of Italian plot of an opera. to treble to bass. Accompanied by a opera, Giuliani’s ambition was not towards Much of Giuliani’s music has remained transparent bass texture or full chords, the avant-garde. He was a prolific composer continuously in print since the early-nineteenth Italian opera was the popular music of broken into wide leaping octaves or floating of works, ranging from grand concertos century, largely due to its didactic usefulness. its day. There was a substantial market for flute-like in the upper reaches of the to simple studies but, except in guitar He produced vast swathes of simple pieces favourite melodies from operas arranged fretboard, Legnani extracts multiple technique, he wasn’t an innovator. for the delight of student and amateur in formats that could be played in the possibilities from the original and wrests However, his music has much to offer in guitarists. These include his sets of Eccosais home on popular parlour instruments from it a broad range of emotions while performance. Well written pieces that or Scotsoises, short charming melodies in like the piano or guitar. No composer for never losing touch with its operatic explore the range of dynamics and timbre a folk style. Rather than present these tiny guitar was better qualified for this task foundations. of the guitar, moments of great tenderness pieces individually, I have combined six pieces than Luigi Legnani (1790-1877). juxtaposed with virtuoso flash. This music into two sets of dances, employing one in The simplicity of the march allows Legnani requires a performance and an audience each set as a recurring rondo theme, and Legnani was trained as a violinist before to display his gift for melody and harmonic ells to come alive but then communicates prefixed them with an appropriate prelude. turning his attention to singing and guitar invention. The highlight being a character great joy. The intention being to give these melodies variation, where Legnani departs from the playing. He was a regular performer on y: Rudi W the opportunity to linger a little longer than three-part structure of the theme to the Ravenna opera stage for seventeen aph Amongst Giuliani’s many pieces for solo they might do otherwise and allow some introduce a meditation on the intimate years and was steeped in the world of ogr guitar, posthumously published so lacking space to vary the interpretation and add opera. When he began pursuing a career possibilities of the guitar. Like a soliloquy an opus number, were his Sei Arie Nazionali some ornaments. as a virtuoso guitarist, the obvious source in a play, the composer, through the guitar, Phot Scozzesi. It is in pieces such as these that material for his compositions in variation communicating directly to the audience Giuliani demonstrates the true depth of his The breadth of influence that Scottish form was the opera melodies he has without the veil of bravura display. skill. While often maligned as a composer culture had on European composers is best performed and heard as a singer. On Fernando Sor had a truly cosmopolitan life. Cole in 2015, for most of the Giuliani pieces Born in Catalonia he left Spain, for political an original guitar from around 1820 possibly reasons, having achieved considerable by Saumier and for the remainder a copy of success as a ballet composer. He lived at a Terz guitar (a smaller instrument tuned various times in London, Paris and as far to a higher pitch) in the Edinburgh University afield as Moscow. Sor has been credited instrument collection by James Marriage as being one of the most important (2013). composers for guitar but this doesn’t do justice to the broad range of his © 2016 James Akers compositional output. Songs, opera, ballets, concertos, Sor was much more than a gifted dilettante composer of guitar music. The guitar, however, was the consistent feature in his musical life and it is for guitar he produced his most personal works.