Quiet Songs CD

The Olson/De Cari Duo has a unique and intimate approach to song performance that comes from soprano Gioia De Cari's background as both a film/theater actor and a classical singer, and guitarist John Olson's sensitive and intelligent approach to both new and traditional repertoire. NYlon Review described a recent performance as "superb . . . served up with style and elegance." Their debut CD, Quiet Songs, features songs and guitar solos highlighting the quiet intimacy of the guitar and the guitar/voice combination. The selections range in style from traditional classical to jazz-inspired, and include familiar repertoire as well as several rarely-heard pieces.From the liner notes by J. Andrew Dickenson:Setting the tone for the CD is the enchanting Aria (Cantilena) from Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Meditative and haunting, the piece begins with a short, rhythmic introduction on the guitar. Almost as if the voice is reluctant to join, it creeps in without words — a single note on the vowel “ah.” The soaring melody evokes images of beautiful landscapes, luminescent moons, and longing for a lover, reflections that are echoed in Portuguese during the middle, più mosso, section. After a dramatic declaration, the wordless, haunting melody returns, this time with an even softer hum. Both Bachianas Brasileiras and the following guitar solo, Prelude No. 3, were written in homage to Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bachianas Brasileiras themselves are a set of nine pieces, each written with the intention of combining Villa-Lobos’s love for the baroque master with the rhythms and melodies of his homeland, Brazil. Originally written for an orchestra of eight cellos and soprano, the Aria, with this arrangement by the composer himself, reflects Villa-Lobos’ passion for two of his favorite instruments, the guitar and the cello.Prelude No. 3, from the composer’s set of five for guitar, bears the subtitle "Homage to Bach." Although it may be difficult to find a specific citation of baroque music in the score, the piece does make innovative use of historical techniques such as pedals, voicing, and arpeggios. The homage, perhaps, is not so much in the character of the music as it is in stylistic reverence for the compositional master.Johann Sebastian Bach's devotion to God and the church is evident in all of his music, though his song settings give him the opportunity to express this devotion in words. The three songs in this set are from a collection of 954 spiritual songs and arias compiled by Georg Christian Schemelli, a well-known cantor of his day. The preface, published in 1736, explains that Bach — Electoral Saxon Capellmeister and Director Chori Musici in Leipzig — composed or "improved" melodies and figured bass for many of the texts. Accompanied here by the gentle sounds of the guitar and interspersed with two movements from the third lute suite, the songs become intimate portraits of faith. Lyrical and gentle, the harmonies are appropriately uplifting and contemplative as the words and melodies profess spirituality, admiration, and awe. In contrast, David Leisner’s Outdoor Shadows are five songs that profess a love for the earth, nature and humanity. Speaking of sun that gives “the tan of earth to me,” birds that have achieved "freedom that flows in form," and earth’s "nitwits numskulls universal nincompoops," the poems by Robert Francis describe the natural world with admiration, color, and wit. Francis's "lyricism and impeccable craft make the poems eminently settable to music," writes Leisner. "His interest in all things natural and simple resonates with mine. In 1985, when I wrote these five songs on a commission from the University of Arizona and the Tucson Guitar Society, these were the most important compositional issues for me, and, I might add, this was determinedly out-of-step with the prevailing interest of the musical composition establishment in complexity and all things cerebral."