Search - Paul Galbraith :: Paul Galbraith: French Impressions

Raises the bar for guitarists

Paul Magnussen | Campbell, CA USA | 04/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is an astonishing achievement.



Up to now I hadn't believed that one guitar could do justice to the music of Debussy and Ravel, although I've heard some good arrangements for two -- notably, Presti/Lagoya's stunning version of Clair de Lune. Mr Galbraith does in fact frequently sound like two people, for instance on Golliwogg's Cakewalk. The disc would be remarkable as a technical achievement alone, but in fact what strikes one first is the musicianship -- the technique seems effortless.



This is one of the best-engineered guitar recordings I've heard, too, especially with regard to clarity and dynamic range. The acoustic, slightly reverberant, is just right (in fact, the fidelity is so good that it picks up a few moments of asthmatic breathing, but this is not obtrusive).



I must also commend the informative and entertaining notes, wherein the performer ponders his chances of getting even a slight word of praise from either of the composers, were they still alive.



The one piece that still doesn't really work for me is Pavane pour une infante défunte, which the guitar's lack of sustain reduces to a plod, despite Mr Galbraith's best efforts. I'll stick to the composer's orchestration.



That said, this is one of the best guitar releases of recent years. And I must second the comment of another reviewer -- don't try to listen to it in the car!"

Five stars, but would give a constellation!

Kevin | LA, CA USA | 02/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My guess would be that the reviewer who who gave 4 stars would feel differently by now. I liked the album at first, but like that reviewer wouldn't have raved as much as for the Haydn and Bach.



Now, however, I have found the depth and complexity of this music to have come out. It doesn't hurt that I recently saw Galbraith play Ravel's "Le Jardin Feerique" to help me "get" it. Now, I find some of the pieces on this album to be some of the most deeply moving music I've ever heard on the guitar, and it is some of the best music I've heard, period. There is such a sense of repose, it would seem wonderful music for film. The true feeling of impressionism comes through.



If you are only listening to this in your car, there are too many subtleties that you'd miss. Wear headphones and enjoy. This is a masterwork, probably one of my 5 favorite classical CD's of all time- I have hundreds and hundreds and adore most of them."

Unique and worth owning

Redgecko | USA | 02/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is much cleaner than his recording of In Every Lake The Moon Shines Full where heavy breathing and the rustle of clothing ruined the enjoyment of almost every quiet track. Some of the breathing problems exist here also and you're sure to notice if you listen through headphones or sit in front of the speakers as is likely if you use it in your computer's drive. Some of this could maybe have been prevented by placing the mics further away to minimize string and performer noise while recording more room ambience. The resonator box that is part of his guitar system's design is no friend in the noise elimination department so he had a built-in disadvantage. The players with the very best technique, such as Williams, Parkening, Russell, Schaupp and Boyd, play so cleanly as to be uncanny. So Galbraith has competition that he doesn't quite measure up to in technique. Galbraith's expressiveness, however, is excellent and his transcriptions are far more complete and interesting than Segovia's transcriptions of some of these pieces, which everyone else plays. All in all, a unique recording worth owning.



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