{"id":15221,"date":"2020-10-08T14:15:11","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T21:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=15221"},"modified":"2020-10-08T14:15:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T21:15:15","slug":"no-boundaries-sharon-isbins-multihued-musical-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/no-boundaries-sharon-isbins-multihued-musical-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"No Boundaries: Sharon Isbin\u2019s Multihued Musical Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>From the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/collections\/back-issues\/products\/no-325-november-december-2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">November\/December 2020<\/a>&nbsp;issue&nbsp;of&nbsp;<em>Acoustic Guitar<\/em>&nbsp;| <strong>By Mark L. Small<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a phone call from her New York City home, multi-Grammy-winning guitarist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sharonisbin.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sharon Isbin<\/a>\u2019s voice reveals patience and acceptance regarding the situation imposed by the current pandemic that has kept her and every other touring artist out of concert halls. \u201cI haven\u2019t traveled since the middle of February,\u201d Isbin says. \u201cBut I live a block from the river and can go jogging whenever I want, and the grocery store where I shop is four blocks away. So it\u2019s a convenient location if one has to be sequestered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Isbin, 64, is unable to appear onstage, fortuitously for her fans she has released a pair of new albums with premieres of music written especially for her. The two outings are worlds apart stylistically. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3mqeatS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Affinity<\/a><\/em> showcases solo guitar works by Tan Dun (China) and Leo Brouwer (Cuba); a two-guitar arrangement of the famous waltz \u201cNatalia,\u201d by Antonio Lauro (Venezuela); three songs by Richard Danielpour (America) featuring mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard; and \u201cAffinity: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra\u201d by American jazz musician Chris Brubeck. The second album, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3hzRRy6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Strings for Peace<\/em>,<\/a> contains four compositions by Indian sarod player Amjad Ali Khan based on popular ragas. Isbin is heard in separate settings with three master sarod players: Amjad Ali Khan and his two sons, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, alternate tracks (with Ayaan playing on two cuts), and tabla player Amit Kavthekar appears on all four.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These two recordings expand a catalog of more than 80 works written or arranged for Isbin\u2014including a dozen concertos. For decades, Isbin\u2019s classical virtuosity has shone in her solo albums and in projects with musicians of diverse backgrounds. She\u2019s joined forces with the world\u2019s top orchestras and classical artists, and with stellar jazz, rock, folk, and bluegrass performers. Her multihued musical canvas is gloriously arrayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>No Boundaries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always been drawn to music that I love, and I haven\u2019t seen it as having boundaries,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen asked to do projects in unfamiliar styles, if I felt inspired by the talents of the collaborators and felt we could make something together, I\u2019ve said yes. If there is an inner, organic goal that\u2019s not contrived and comes from a place of love, beauty, and respect for others, you can find a way to make it work.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"By the Moon - Raga Behag\" width=\"1170\" height=\"878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h-blzBtOqvs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The timeline for the <em>Strings for Peace<\/em> album illustrates the process of finding common ground between Western and North Indian classical music. Isbin has listened to Indian classical music since her college years. In January 2009, she heard from Amjad Ali Khan\u2014the world\u2019s most prominent sarod player\u2014that he wanted to collaborate. Bringing two dissimilar musical languages together, however, was a challenge. \u201cAmjad writes his own music and he had to find someone to arrange the music and notate his ideas in a way that I could read,\u201d she says. \u201cHe needed a person with a knowledge of improvisation\u2014especially jazz\u2014North Indian classical music, and classical guitar. After a while I wondered if it would ever happen.\u201d While Khan was doing a residency at the University of Indiana at Bloomington, he met a student, Kyle Paul, who fit the bill. In November of 2018, Khan sent scores and MP3 samples of his ragas to Isbin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In preparation for a February 2019 tour of India, Isbin traveled a few days early for intensive rehearsals where the musical worlds coalesced. \u201cIn the ragas\u2019 slow sections, there is a lot of melismatic improvisation they do, and I had to find a way to add slides, embellishments, and bent notes to my parts to reflect the style of the sarod,\u201d she says. The arrangements required the sixth and fifth strings of Isbin\u2019s guitar be tuned to C and G, respectively, for a drone effect, and included other Western musical elements such as harmonized melodic lines and occasional chordal accompaniment. Isbin ably holds her own, even in the breakneck unison lines heard at the climax of the ragas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI found that all the years that I spent playing with jazz and South American musicians made this all feel very natural,\u201d she reflects. \u201cEven the ten years of Baroque performance study I did with [keyboard artist and Bach scholar] Rosalyn Tureck informed my ideas about improvisation and embellishment in the slow sections of the Indian music. This project was an opportunity to bring all of that together.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Toward Affinity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The music on <em>Affinity<\/em> presented different challenges. Tan Dun has written for Isbin before, and the solo piece \u201cSeven Desires for Guitar\u201d was derived from his \u201cYi2\u201d concerto for guitar and orchestra penned for Isbin in 1996. The solo work, first recorded by Chinese guitarist  Xingye Li on his 2014 album <em>Guitar Masterpieces<\/em>, finds commonality between guitar techniques and those of the <em>pipa<\/em>, a four-string Chinese lute. Strident strums, rapid tremolos, and percussive slaps evocative of flamenco combine with microtonal bent notes, glissandi, and sprays of harmonics to amalgamate the sonic worlds of the two instruments. Isbin states that Dun, a non-guitarist, \u201csensed intuitively what the guitar could do and figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brubeck\u2019s concerto required more elbow grease from Isbin. \u201cChris plays electric bass guitar, trombone, and piano, and counted on me to adjust the part,\u201d Isbin states. \u201cThe guitar enters with a series of runs that leap all over the place. I spent dozens of hours on the first 40 seconds of the piece trying to figure out what would be the most faithful to the composer and most playable for the guitar.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Affinity: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra\" width=\"1170\" height=\"878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZnkELMMc0ls?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChris was drawn to my interest in different styles of music. The fact that I had played in classical, contemporary, folk, bluegrass, and jazz settings was attractive to him. He wanted to create something that showed our shared affinity. <em>Affinity<\/em> ended up being the title of the piece and the album because it reflects an affinity for different styles of music and cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brubeck solicited Isbin\u2019s input while composing the piece. \u201cHe stopped by to show me some sketches and asked if there was anything I wanted to change,\u201d she says. Isbin admired the slow section, but wasn\u2019t deeply moved by it. She suggested that Chris pay homage to his late father\u2014jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck\u2014in that section. He sent Isbin recordings of three songs his father had written. She listened to them with Elizabeth Schulze, who conducted the Maryland Symphony Orchestra in the 2015 premiere and the recording. \u201cWe both loved the song \u2018Autumn in Our Town<em>,\u2019<\/em>\u201d Isbin says. \u201cChris wrote a beautiful orchestration of that song and it became the core of the piece.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The modern classic \u201cEl Decameron Negro\u201d has been in Isbin\u2019s repertoire since Leo Brouwer penned it for her in 1981. \u201cI recorded it in 1988 and didn\u2019t expect to do it again,\u201d she says, \u201cbut when this project came up, I wanted to include it. I\u2019ve grown so much in the interim that I wanted to express how I\u2019ve lived in the piece.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNatalia,\u201d which bears the name of Antonio Lauro\u2019s daughter, is the late composer\u2019s most beloved piece. \u201cI was at a party once in Caracas, Venezuela, and Natalia was there,\u201d Isbin recalls. \u201cSomeone passed me a guitar and I played Lauro\u2019s waltz and Natalia picked up a <em>cuatro<\/em> and started improvising with me. I never forgot how touching that experience was.\u201d Isbin\u2019s former student Colin Davin made a brilliant two-guitar arrangement of the piece, adding high-strummed chords evocative of the <em>cuatro<\/em>, percussive accompaniment, harmonized passages, and counter lines. Isbin and Davin draw out the piece\u2019s folk spirit on the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The grouping of three songs, \u201cOf Love and Longing,\u201d by Richard Danielpour, rounds out the album. Isbin backs renowned mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (with whom she previously collaborated on the 2017 album <em>Alma Espa\u00f1ola<\/em>) in Danielpour\u2019s ambrosial settings of romantic texts by 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. \u201cWe premiered them at Carnegie Hall in 2015,\u201d Isbin says. \u201cI always had it in mind to record them and was amazed when everyone\u2019s schedules came together to permit that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lessons Present and Past&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Isbin\u2019s future plans include premiering a piece by Joseph Schwantner for string quartet and guitar with the Pacifica Quartet in March 2021. A tour this fall in support of <em>Strings for Peace<\/em> has been postponed. Yet, she has learned to calmly deal with the unexpected.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sharon_isbin_tan_dun-Rob_Fortunato.jpg?w=1170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"sharon_isbin_tan_dun-Rob_Fortunato\" class=\"wp-image-120132\"\/><figcaption><em>Sharon Isbin and composer Tan Dun<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI learned this back in 2002 when I was asked to play during the reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of 9\/11 at the memorial ceremony at Ground Zero. It was the first time the families of those who died and the survivors were allowed to gather there. I didn\u2019t know if I would be able to hold up. But the moment I saw their faces, I knew that I was there to be part of the healing process. This was going to be a new destiny for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the subsequent concert season, Isbin prefaced her encore, Naomi Shemer\u2019s \u201cJerusalem of Gold,\u201d by sharing her experience playing it at the 2002 memorial. Almost without fail, audience members approached her afterwards saying they had lost someone in the attack. Having their experience acknowledged through her sharing of words and music provided comfort.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a time to take stock and remember what\u2019s important in life,\u201d Isbin says. \u201cYou can\u2019t change the virus, but you can change how you deal with big issues like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" height=\"1024\" width=\"744\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/isbinsolo-Suvo_Das-744x1024.jpg?resize=744%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"isbinsolo-Suvo_Das\" class=\"wp-image-120131\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT SHE PLAYS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sharon Isbin plays a guitar built in 2010 by luthier Antonius M\u00fceller of Aarbergen, Germany. It\u2019s a double-top featuring two layers of cedar. The scale length is 650mm. Isbin uses a mixed set of Savarez strings: New Cristal Blue (high tension) for the first, New Cristal Red (normal tension) for the second, Alliance Red (normal tension) for the third, and Cantiga Blue (high tension) bass strings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-classical-guitar\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ucFbOBPbua\"><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/sharon-isbin-and-isabel-leonards-alma-espanola-is-overflowing-with-iberian-spirit\/\">Sharon Isbin and Isabel Leonard\u2019s \u2018Alma Espa\u00f1ola\u2019 is Overflowing with Iberian Spirit<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Sharon Isbin and Isabel Leonard\u2019s \u2018Alma Espa\u00f1ola\u2019 is Overflowing with Iberian Spirit&#8221; &#8212; Classical Guitar\" src=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/sharon-isbin-and-isabel-leonards-alma-espanola-is-overflowing-with-iberian-spirit\/embed\/#?secret=ucFbOBPbua\" data-secret=\"ucFbOBPbua\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the&nbsp;November\/December 2020&nbsp;issue&nbsp;of&nbsp;Acoustic Guitar&nbsp;| By Mark L. Small During a phone call from her New York City home, multi-Grammy-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin\u2019s voice reveals patience and acceptance regarding the situation imposed by the current pandemic that has kept her and every other touring artist out of concert halls. \u201cI haven\u2019t traveled since the middle of February,\u201d Isbin says. \u201cBut I live a block from the river and can go jogging whenever I want, and the grocery store where I shop [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":15223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-stories","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/SharinIsbin.jpg?fit=987%2C731&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}