Copper Press Magazine: Mosaic

by Christian Cary

The Georgia Guitar Quartet's latest full length presents interesting transcriptions for guitar quartet of classical favorites, Irish folk music and an original composition by group member Jason Solomon. For all of the flexibility and tonal beauty of the classical guitar, its sustaining power is limited; thus, arrangements of orchestral works have to guard carefully against making lush works peter out in translation. Fortunately, the arrangements by Quartet members Solomon, Phil Snyder and Kyle Dawkins compensate with imaginative ensemble coordination and harmonic voicings of considerable appeal. I am not nearly as convinced by Joshua Shillair's rendering of two movements from Maurice Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, which sound underfed and attenuated.

Frédéric Chopin's Etude in E Major (arranged by Snyder) is a terrific piece for guitar quartet; the key, after all, affords abundant open string opportunities. The Georgians perform it with an excellent balance of rubato melodies and sturdy ensemble.

Also included are three movements from Darius Milhaud's Scaramouche. The buoyant ebullience of "Vif" is another charmer that seems meant for this instrumental configuration. Edvard Grieg's “Two Elegiac Melodies,” on the other hand, are imbued with an entirely different cast than their originals, more dance-like and lilting, but this different "guitaristic" perspective is by no means unwelcome. Alberto Ginastera's “Danzas Argentinas” sounds like bustling bumblebee hives of activity, played with scintillating brilliance by the quartet. Solomon's "Five Character Pieces" provide the GGQ with a postmodern conglomeration of minimalism and idiomatic passage-work that they take to with both zest and musicality. They also render the Irish folk song "The Road to Lisdoonvarna" with enthusiasm; a reprise of the work, containing improvised snatches of other pieces on the recording brings the album to a quolibetic conclusion. If only more classical releases were as imaginative and satisfying!