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Sunday, April 09, 2006
Aires de Sefarad: : 46 Spanish Songs for Violin and Guitar

Aires de Sefarad
Jorge Liderman
Duo 46
Albany Records

From Scarlatti onwards, the guitar seems to have inextricably fused itself into Spanish music. A quick perusal through the most influential Spanish composers yields few who haven’t either written for guitar or been influenced by the sound and techniques of the instrument. It would then seem only natural that when Jorge Liderman was commissioned to write for Duo 46 (guitarist Matt Gould and violinist Beth Ilana), that he would turn to Spain for inspiration.

Liderman wrote Aires de Sefarad for the duo, a collection of 46 ‘songs’ based around melodies from the Sephardic Jewish communities originating from southern Spain. The resulting work is a solid and mostly enjoyable effort on the part of the composer and performers. The influence of the Sephardic melodies is apparent throughout, as each song speaks to both the community from which the original material comes from, as well as the culture of Spain itself.

The individual songs themselves are more of a mixed bag. Many of them are very evocative and beautiful, while others are rhythmically charged and exciting. There are 46 of them, however, and some do fall flat. In addition, the homogeneity of the texture of the instruments over the hour-long course of the work does lead to some monotony after a while. Liderman could have perhaps avoided this had he used the percussive aspects of either instrument a little more.

There is still much to like, however. Duo 46 plays with technical proficiency and the appropriate feeling for a wide variety of songs, and Liderman’s writing is idiomatic to both instruments. If split up into smaller chunks, the work fares better, and leads to a more enjoyable experience. There is nothing earth shattering here, but still many moments that will make you come back to the disc… or parts of it, at least.
posted by Trevor Hunter 10:34 PM


 


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