{"id":6515,"date":"2017-04-04T09:57:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T16:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=6515"},"modified":"2017-04-05T13:56:27","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T20:56:27","slug":"recent-releases-tuesday-albums-from-james-akers-duo-amaral-and-chris-fossek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/recent-releases-tuesday-albums-from-james-akers-duo-amaral-and-chris-fossek\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Releases Tuesday: Albums from James Akers, Duo Amaral, and Chris Fossek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s our bi-weekly listing of some of the CDs that have come into the\u00a0Classical Guitar<\/em>\u00a0office recently.<\/p>\n

If you have a CD you\u2019d like to submit to us, here\u2019s our address:<\/p>\n

Classical Guitar
\n501 Canal Blvd. suite J
\nRichmond, CA 94804-3505<\/p>\n

Some of these will be reviewed in the magazine, some not. But we want to at least mention them here. You can listen to some of these on various of streaming services, but we always encourage you to support the artists by actually\u00a0buying<\/em>\u00a0anything you like!<\/p>\n

To see our previous listings, scroll to the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2014Blair Jackson<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThe Soldier\u2019s Return: Guitar Works Inspired by Scotland
\n<\/em><\/strong>James Akers
\n<\/strong>Resonus<\/p>\n

I confess that before this CD showed up in my mailbox, I had no idea that Scottish music and literature had been so influential on classical composers. Yet here is an entire CD, by the great Scottish guitarist Jamie Akers\u2014best known for his work with period instruments (or contemporary versions thereof)\u2014in which he plays multiple works by Giuliani and Legnani, and one each by Sor and Mertz, all with links to Scotland. Most are drawn from or inspired by ageless Scottish folk tunes, and two were adapted from themes from Rossini operas based on Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott’s famous poem\u00a0The Lady of the Lake<\/em> (La donna del lago<\/em>). All in all, it’s a wonderful and attractive program, full of lilting and sonorous melodies; simple on some levels, but definitely requiring some virtuosity, as well. Akers’ nicely written notes provide plenty of context for the music on this fascinating and easy-to-enjoy project.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Variations on a Scottish Theme<\/em> (Sor); The Soldier\u2019s Return<\/em> (Giuliani); Variations on Rossini\u2019s \u2018La Marcia\u2019<\/em> (Legnani); Prelude and Scotsoises 1<\/em>(Giuliani); Blue Bells of Scotland<\/em> (Giuliani); Jenny\u2019s Bawbee<\/em> (Giuliani); Fingal\u2019s Cave<\/em> (Mertz); Coming Through the Rye<\/em> (Giuliani); Prelude and Scotsoises 2<\/em> (Giuliani); This is no my ain Lassie<\/em> (Giuliani); Variations on Rossini\u2019s \u2018Oh Quante Lagrime\u2019<\/em> (Legnani); The Old Country Bumpkin<\/em> (Giuliani)<\/p>\n

Listen or buy through Resonus Classics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here, Akers plays Giuliani’s arrangement of <\/em>The Bluebells of Scotland on a Romantic guitar that dates back to around 1820:<\/em>
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