Rob Nijboer
Gitaar
Recensie Rob Nijboer
Mertz, Barrios, Domeniconi, Rudnev Rob Nijboer, g Aliud 124—54 minutes
Right off the bat what impresses me about this recording of inspired guitar music is the purity of tone, thanks to the combination of three artists—one playing the guitar, one who made the instrument, and one at the recording con- sole.
Add to that pristine phrasing that is never overdone and dynamics that massage the lis- tener and you have in this recording a very enjoyable hour to spend with this remarkably competent Dutch guitarist, Rob Nijboer.
A set of four pieces by Mertz includes a transcription of Schubert’s `Lob der Tranen’
and closes with a very stirring performance of his `Tarantelle’. Another four pieces by Barrios, three of them quite often recorded, are pleas- ant enough, and conclude with a well-played tremolo work, `Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios’.
Carlo Domenicone’s (b. 1947) Variations on an Anatolian Folk Song is played with strength and conviction, and the addition of bird song in his `Rose in the Garden’ is unex- pected and pleasant.
The program concludes with a song, `With the Night’s Breath’, by Estonian composer Margo Kolar (b. 1961) sung by soprano Marian van der Heide. The translated lyrics in the liner notes supply a fitting conclusion to this pro- gram of music clearly connected to a spiritual source.
MCCUTCHEON
