Guitar Society concert

Press, 24 February 1986, Page 4

Guitar Society concert

Christchurch Guitar Society annual concert at State Trinity Centre. Sunday, February 23 at 8 p.m. Reviewed by Roger Flury. Last evening’s concert by the Christchurch Guitar Society proved to be something of a marathon. Two and a half hours of almost continuous guitar music did not, however, seem to dampen the enthusiasm - of the small audience, which was rewarded with performances ranging from inadequate to excellent. Stephanie Sutton and Hamilton Machius had the unenviable task of opening the concert. Neither was really in control of the instrument, and their performances were rather a struggle. Michel Eliad is a Belgian guitarist living in Christchurch. His style was very fluent, if a little introverted. There were a

few unhappy moments in his Bach playing, but the Ponce “Gigue” bought his bracket of solos to a rousing conclusion.

The second half of the concert consisted mainly of duet work. Phil Bates and . Quentin Arnold played a group of lively flamenco pieces, lacking just that extra bit of fire in their playing. Mr Arnold was then joined by Michael Walton for a series of rather uneventful duets adapted from Vivaldi, Granados and the Elizabethans.

The only non-guitar item of the evening was provided by Penny Singer. Miss Singer sang pieces by Sor and Milan using an extraordinary vocal technqiue which combined pop and folk, styles. The result was interesting, but not really right. David Smith brought the recital to a close with music by Haug, Della-

Maza and Torroba. These impressionistic pieces evoking dawn, night and dawn bells failed to really make their effect because one was continually aware of their technical difficulties. This was not the fault of the performer, but more a criticism of the' compositions themselves. One performer stood out from the rest. Kim Rockell is a student of guitar at the University of Canterbury, but he has all the makings of a professional player. His playing is poised, technically sound, imaginative and intensively musical. He alone of all the artists really gave a performance.

Finally, a grizzle. The programme contained so many errors that it was virtually useless as a guide to what was being performed. Perhaps more care could be taken over this in the future.