On his latest album, Vesper, guitarist Sean Shibe explores the expressive potential of the guitar through the works of three British composers. The thoughtfully curated programme weaves together themes of Spain, 20th-century painters, and antique musical forms, offering a series of mind-expanding flights of fancy that can be enjoyed as a whole or piece by piece.
Thomas Adès's Forgotten Dances pays homage to the baroque dance suite, with quirky titles adding an imaginative layer. Overture, Queen of the Spiders combines stately harmonics with slides and pounces, while Barcarolle – The Maiden Voyage evokes a nostalgic lapping gymnopedie. In the title track Vesper (for Henry Purcell), Adès reimagines the older composer's Evening Hymn. Shibe's playing is acutely articulate and technically impeccable throughout.
Harrison Birtwistle's five melodic miniatures are a revelation, including three piano originals arranged for guitar by Forbes Henderson. Berceuse de Jeanne and Sleep Song are bewitching lullabies, while Oockooing Bird, written when the composer was 16, is his earliest acknowledged score. At over 18 minutes, Beyond the White Hand is the thorniest piece, its fragmentary architecture mastered by Shibe, though it remains a tough nut to crack.
James Dillon's 12 Caprices, a series of concise meditations on the instrument's structure and expression, bring the recital to a somewhat elusive conclusion. This album showcases Shibe's virtuosity and the guitar's rich expressive range.
