{"id":974,"date":"2018-12-17T08:27:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T07:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/?p=974"},"modified":"2023-08-25T21:40:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T20:40:34","slug":"sam-cave-forthcoming-cd-release-on-metier-guitar-sonatas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/?p=974","title":{"rendered":"Sam Cave forthcoming CD release on Meti\u00e9r: Guitar Sonatas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-969\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-CD-cover.jpg?resize=471%2C424\" alt=\"\" width=\"471\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-CD-cover.jpg?resize=1024%2C921 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-CD-cover.jpg?resize=300%2C270 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-CD-cover.jpg?resize=768%2C691 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-CD-cover.jpg?w=1648 1648w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 471px) 100vw, 471px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-973\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-pic.jpg?resize=426%2C617\" alt=\"\" width=\"426\" height=\"617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-pic.jpg?resize=707%2C1024 707w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-pic.jpg?resize=207%2C300 207w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-pic.jpg?resize=768%2C1112 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Sam-Cave-pic.jpg?w=829 829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 426px) 100vw, 426px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The recording for Sam Cave&#8217;s CD is all done now, and Meti\u00e9r (a division of Divine Records) are due to release the disc early in 2019.\u00a0 \u00a0I&#8217;m honoured that Sam has recorded my Guitar Sonata and Second Guitar Sonata to include on the disc; these are pieces which I wrote specially for Sam, and he&#8217;s championed them in numerous concerts in China and across the UK over the last few years.<\/p>\n<p>I had fun assisting John Croft on the production of the Guitar Sonata recording&#8211; photos here: <a href=\"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/?p=646\">http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/?p=646<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the press release:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/divineartrecords.com\/metier-signs-guitarist-sam-cave\/\">https:\/\/divineartrecords.com\/metier-signs-guitarist-sam-cave\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>and an album taster (Sam&#8217;s own piece from the album):\u00a0<iframe loading=\"lazy\"  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_86884\"  width=\"810\" height=\"456\"  data-origwidth=\"810\" data-origheight=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6ewfw-WIhOg?enablejsapi=1&origin=http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&rel=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And Sam&#8217;s website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.samcave.com\/\">http:\/\/www.samcave.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve also had fun creating liner notes on my pieces, which I&#8217;ve included below.\u00a0 Sam&#8217;s liner notes also give a fascinating insight into the way he views the connections between the pieces on the CD (including works by Murail, Radulescu, Fox and Sam Cave himself as well as my two sonatas), and Sam&#8217;s said it&#8217;s OK to include those here too for everyone to see (scroll down).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>My liner notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guitar Sonata (2009-11)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>The <em>First Guitar sonata <\/em>was written for and dedicated to Sam Cave.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>The work explores\u00a0the very strict structuring of two\u00a0contrasting materials, which are presented in alternating sections.\u00a0 Material one largely consists of clouds of harmonics, material two of\u00a0\u201cnormal\u201d fretted chords and figurations.\u00a0 The section lengths progressively change: to begin with material one dominates; later on, material two dominates.\u00a0\u00a0This discourse between two contrasting materials prompted the designation of <em>sonata<\/em>, following the model of Jean Barraqu\u00e9\u2019s Piano Sonata.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-970\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=810%2C262\" alt=\"\" width=\"810\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=1024%2C331 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=300%2C97 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=768%2C248 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?w=1620 1620w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?w=2430 2430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-971\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.2.jpg?resize=810%2C196\" alt=\"\" width=\"810\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.2.jpg?resize=1024%2C248 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.2.jpg?resize=300%2C73 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.2.jpg?resize=768%2C186 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.2.jpg?w=1620 1620w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/First-guitar-sonata-ex.2.jpg?w=2430 2430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The two essential materials of the first sonata.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The work uses a microtonal tuning of the strings to access certain &#8220;spectral&#8221; harmonies that imitate the pitches of the harmonic series.\u00a0 The A-string is tuned to B 2\/3 flat, while the B string is tuned to C 1\/4 sharp, allowing for notes that approximate respectively the 7<sup>th<\/sup> and 11<sup>th<\/sup> partials over given fundamentals.\u00a0 The main &#8220;fundamental&#8221; of the work is E2 (the lowest string of the guitar).\u00a0 This note emphatically appears in the final section, when all the pent-up energies of the work are released and evaporate.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Second Guitar Sonata (2011-14)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>After the extreme technical virtuosity and invention of the first sonata, I sought a different approach in the Second Guitar Sonata (2011-14).\u00a0 During a trip to Georgia in September 2011, I hiked up to the emblematic Trinity Church of Gergeti in the shadow of the Mount Kazbegi; I was struck not only by the extraordinary calm and beauty of that place, but also by the bizarrely dry acoustic (the distances between the surrounding mountains is so great that there is seemingly no echo).\u00a0 In the second sonata, I try to capture this tranquillity, the vast sense of space, and the sublime landscape in the music of the second sonata.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A poem accompanies the work.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cKazbegi\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>around us rise<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>the towering rocks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>earth-brown at noon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>blue-grey at dusk<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>in the moonlight,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>silver shadow<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>the crags are still:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>we are quiet, we wait.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The second sonata, though technically simpler than the first, places far greater demands of listening on the performer.\u00a0 Both the surface rhythms and the \u201cstructural\u201d rhythms (the progression from one gesture to the next) are determined entirely by the decay of \u201cguide notes\u201d written on the upper staff.\u00a0 Material on inferior staves happens only within the time frame of the decay of the guide notes, while the repetition of individual notes and figures is also determined by their own decay.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-972\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Second-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=810%2C220\" alt=\"\" width=\"810\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Second-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=1024%2C278 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Second-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=300%2C81 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Second-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?resize=768%2C208 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Second-guitar-sonata-ex.1.jpg?w=1620 1620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The opening of the Second Guitar Sonata<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here are Sam&#8217;s excellent liner notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Refracted Resonance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201c\u2026plucked sound has a remarkable quality because the actual pluck is the apex of the sound, and thereafter it dies, and if you are playing a phrase of six or seven notes you are actually dealing with six or seven births and six or seven deaths\u2026.the excitement is also in the space between the notes and therein lies the poetry of plucked sound\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Julian Bream (A Life in the Country, 1976 BBC Documentary)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For every note the guitar can play there are an infinite number of tone colours waiting to be coaxed from its body. My fascination with the timbral palette of the guitar has underpinned my love for the instrument and all of the work I have done in exploring, commissioning and creating new music for it. This disc is a culmination of many years of that work. In it I have tried to explore the kinds of music and ways of playing the guitar that move and inspire me. The composers represented on this recording are those who have made the biggest impact on me musically and personally in the last ten years.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The music on this is disc is united, and indeed contrasted, by several main thematic ideas. Firstly there is music that revels in, and in some cases is controlled by, the natural decay of resonating sound. George Holloway\u2019s <em>Second Guitar Sonata<\/em> and my short <em>Refracted Meditations III<\/em> both show the kind of fascination with the \u2018birth\/death\u2019 element of plucked sound that Julian Bream spoke of so eloquently back in 1976. There is also music that mirrors my own obsession with the harmonic series of overtones. <em>Tellur<\/em> (Tristan Murail), <em>Subconscious Wave<\/em> (Horatiu Radulescu) and Holloway\u2019s <em>Guitar Sonata<\/em> all have their harmonic language rooted in the beauty and \u2018otherness\u2019 of the overtone series. The remarkable differences between them \u2013 the flamenco inspired strumming in <em>Tellur<\/em>, the wild bowing of <em>Subconscious Wave<\/em> and the extreme physical virtuosity of the <em>Guitar Sonata<\/em> \u2013 show the strength of each composer\u2019s voice and the inventiveness of their writing for the guitar. Some of the music presented in this recording is linked by an interest in process. Fox\u2019s <em>Chile<\/em> and Murail\u2019s <em>Tellur<\/em>, whilst superficially linked by their exploration of various strumming techniques, use process in differing ways, either smoothly or as a kind of discontinuity. Finally, I have tried to reflect my interest in differing kinds of virtuosity. There is music that requires physical dexterity (<em>Tellur <\/em>and<em> Guitar Sonata<\/em>), music that requires rhythmic virtuosity (<em>Chile<\/em> and <em>Second<\/em> <em>Guitar Sonata<\/em>), music that requires \u2018conceptual\u2019 virtuosity (<em>Subconscious Wave<\/em>). Perhaps most importantly, there is also music that requires the performer to engage in a virtuosity based purely on ones ability to listen to the sound one is producing (<em>Second Guitar Sonata<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The recording for Sam Cave&#8217;s CD is all done now, and Meti\u00e9r (a division of Divine Records) are due to release the disc early in 2019.\u00a0 \u00a0I&#8217;m honoured that Sam has recorded my Guitar Sonata and Second Guitar Sonata to include on the disc; these are pieces which I wrote specially for Sam, and he&#8217;s&#8230;<span class=\"clearfix clearfix-post\"><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/?p=974\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#8220;Sam Cave forthcoming CD release on Meti\u00e9r: Guitar Sonatas&#8221;<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[287,288,349,289,291,350],"class_list":["post-974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1","tag-cd-release","tag-guitar","tag-john-croft","tag-metier-divine-records","tag-sam-cave","tag-solo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=974"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1067,"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974\/revisions\/1067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgehollowaycomposer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}