{"id":12680,"date":"2019-05-01T13:37:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T20:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=12680"},"modified":"2019-05-01T13:37:57","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T20:37:57","slug":"album-review-enno-voorhorst-and-orchestra-celebrate-roland-dyens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/album-review-enno-voorhorst-and-orchestra-celebrate-roland-dyens\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Enno Voorhorst (and Orchestra) Celebrate Roland Dyens"},"content":{"rendered":"
BY TIM PANTING | FROM THE SPRING 2019 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR<\/a><\/h6>\n

<\/a>A\u00a0CD celebrating the music of unarguably one of the greatest guitarists of the last 50 years is indeed something to rejoice in. Roland Dyens (1955\u20132016) died tragically too young for someone so abundantly creative, and the glittering procession of staggeringly attractive compositions he left for us to enjoy will continue to delight and surprise. The majority of Dyens\u2019 compositions can be found with the publisher Editions Henry Lemoine, although his works also grace the books of Les Productions d\u2019Oz. Dyens\u2019 music is difficult to pigeonhole but not hard to lavish upon it an endless supply of superlatives. His music scores are famously meticulous\u2014the opposite of the unadorned scoring so popular with many of today\u2019s composers, who perhaps don\u2019t know the guitar as intimately as Dyens so obviously did. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The title Concerto M\u00e9tis<\/i> describes the \u201cmixed\u201d nature of the music in the disc\u2019s main piece\u2014as in racially mixed (its literal meaning), but also nothing written in stone and perhaps, non-pejoratively, mercurial. Subtitled \u201cHommage \u00e0 Ida Presti,\u201d the piece honors another brilliant flame of the guitar world who also departed far too soon. Presti also composed, and recent recordings (such as Tribute to Ida Presti<\/i> by Cinzia Milani) show a fine talent in that regard, but this homage appears to be more of a fellow guitarist\u2019s admiration of brilliance. And what a fantastic piece Concerto<\/i> M\u00e9tis<\/i> is! It was Dyens\u2019 first concerto, written in 1990 and, as he stated, closest to his heart. If one were to search for hints of where to start understanding the sound-world created by Dyens, you would benefit by exploring the music of Villa-Lobos and of tributaries spreading across the vast territory of Brazilian music, of which Dyens had such a passionate liking\u2014especially Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947) and the great composer of ch\u00f4ro<\/i> music Pixinguinha (1897\u20131973).<\/p>\n

The structure of the concerto is fairly symmetrical: three movements, with the outer movements each divided into three sections, and what a gorgeous central movement (a great place for real magic), sandwiched between music that bursts with both sensitivity and delightful mischief; the playful harmonic subtleties of Poulenc and Milhaud come to mind. The balance created between the strings and the guitar is perfect\u2014almost a sensual overload at times, yet something you can never have too much of.<\/p>\n

Enno Voorhorst, now teaching at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, is a formidable guitarist whose portrait reveals a soul of great strength and depth. He really \u201cgets\u201d Dyens. Other tracks on the CD include solo pieces Saudades<\/i> 1, 2 and 3; Th\u00e8me Felin; <\/i>and the beautiful Lettre \u00e0 la Siene <\/i>and Lettre \u00e0 Monsieur Messiaen<\/i> (from 20 Lettres<\/i>). The album ends with a delightful orchestrated version of Tango en Ska\u00ef.<\/i> But the greatest treat for me is S\u00e9r\u00e9nade<\/i> (second movement from Concerto en Si, <\/i>originally for solo guitar and guitar ensemble). Voorhorst arranged it for guitar and strings and it is truly exquisite.<\/p>\n

This is a superb recording featuring playing of the highest order. Definitely in my Top Five for 2018!<\/p>\n