Olveston
November 2.
On a stormy spring Saturday night like few others, only a few hardy souls ensconced themselves in the tasteful luxury of Olveston’s drawing room to hear guitarist Braden Southee perform Six Strings at Six.
Works by Tarrega and his contemporaries effectively brought the Spanish guitar into the concert halls of Europe.
They took advantage of the broader range and sonorous capabilities made possible by the development of the instrument for solo performance.
Olveston’s seating, arranged to maximise the space available, provides a cosy if not uncomfortable familiarity among the audience, who warmly applauded each number.
The room’s acoustics proved to be perfect for the guitar, allowing the richness of the instrument’s sounds to envelope the space.
Despite the occasional lapse over a long programme presented without an interval, Southee’s excellent technique and stamina were testament to his dedication.
His phrasing was brilliant as was the strength of his melodic interpretation.
His complete absorption in his craft produced an excellent performance, allowing the audience to become steeped in the genre.
The programme opened with Tarrega’s dulcet Capriccio Arabe followed by the up-tempo Rosita, Llobet’s enchantingly sad Testament d’Amelia, three of Lobos’ well-known and technically demanding preludes and Brouwer’s aptly wintry introspective Un Dia de Noviembre.
Albeniz’s dramatic and wide-ranging Cadix, Granada and Asturia are deservedly entrenched in the guitar’s performance repertoire.
Barrios’ works are a little less known and deserve fuller exposure.
His tuneful Julia Florida was a welcome concentration on melodic phrasing.
His Vals No 3 and No 4 provided light-hearted and witty conversations between the two parts.
Myers’ soulful Cavatina and Malats’ exuberant Serenade Espagnol were presented exquisitely.
After a highly successful evening, Southee generously gave an encore of a beautifully arranged Pokarekare Ana to the audience’s delight.
