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FANFARE Magazine - November 2008
COLLECTIONS: Instrumental
JOY—CAROLS AND SONGS FOR A SEASON OF LIGHT • Frank Wallace (gtr) • GYRE 10092 (59:03)
This is a beautiful collection of Christmas music from across the centuries, played, composed, and arranged by Frank Wallace, a guitarist previously unknown to me who is a true master of his instrument. Wallace’s arrangements bring the spirit of the Renaissance to life with rhetorical emphasis, flowing counterpoint, and sparkling variations, and he plays familiar carols with a gentle, expressively nuanced touch. He’s also at home with medieval music, adding idiomatic lines that preserve the spare yet resonant grandeur of Gregorian chant. His dynamic range is impressive, and his gradations of tone, constantly singing line, and sensitive musicianship confirm his “elegant virtuosity” (www.classicstoday.com). Wallace’s carols blend effortlessly with the program’s other selections. A Shining alternates delicately plucked high notes with the melody: flanked by Star in the East and Cuando el Rey, it shares their Middle Eastern or Moorish influence. March is more extroverted, its vigorous melody augmented by quicksilver counterpoint. Carillon is spiced with a few piquant “contemporary” notes and like March is set to a quick tempo: the bells don’t sound in overlapping waves so much as run in separate streams. Descent of the Doves is sweetly gentle yet uplifting, as befits its title.
“JOY,” like the emotion it often transmits, shouldn’t be reserved only for Christmas: its abundant musical pleasures will charm listeners at any time of year. Gyre Music offers a book of “JOY”’s compositions and arrangements, available at www.gyremusic.com. The CD doesn’t come with a booklet, but Wallace’s prefatory nostalgic reminiscence is very much in the spirit of the season. Although it’s easy to imagine “JOY” providing excellent background music to a quiet family gathering, it’s also a CD that should be heard by “serious” listeners who will give it the time and appreciation it deserves. Robert Schulslaper
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars] |
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