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T H
E
N
U T C R A C K E R
S
U I T E
The
Nutcracker Suite - Liner notes by John Renbourn
As far as I know, this is Tim Sparks' first solo album. I
say that because had there been other recordings out there,
however obscure, I'm certain I would have heard about them
as his playing is simply world class. Debut or not, this
collection is comprised of two outstanding works - a
complete transcription of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" Suite
and Tim's own settings of Eastern European dance tunes
collectively titled "Balkan Dreams" - both of which are, in
my opinion, major contributions to the guitar
repertoire.
Although pieces of this standard can
only be the result of years of application, I did not become
aware of Tim's work until comparatively recently. I can
clearly remember listening to Duck Baker as he played
tantalizing snatches of ideas he had picked up from
"Sparks", a fellow American based in Minneapolis, an
established stomping ground for a generation of innovative
players. Next to emerge was a tape of the initial working of
the "Nutcracker" and it was literally astounding. By that
time the word was out, and I finally got the chance to meet
him all too briefly at the Summer School of the Foundation
for Guitar Studies, Milwaukee, where he was discussing the
project.
As he explained, "I approached this
piece with the idea in mind that I wanted to do something
that was both technically daunting and at the same time
pleasing to a non-guitarist. I found in the "Nutcracker"
these two qualities - lots of tricky fingerpicking
dimensions with a theme of universal appeal. I worked by
listening to the recording of the piece for a long time to
really get it in my head, then I used a piano score and
reduced that to a guitar score. As I went along I made
changes that were guitaristic but preserved the essential
spirit and architecture of the piece.
In the interim I began studying the
work of Paraguayan virtuoso Augustin Barrios. Under his
influence and by changing to a nylon-string I revised many
of the sections that were complex for complexities sake.
This is what I've arrived at by re-editing and re-thinking
the pieces, and on reflection I think it's good that I
waited to record because the arrangements are now more
musical."
"Balkan Dreams" was originally
conceived as an independent project which I find in someways
to be even more impressive than the "Nutcracker". In places
the sheer control and execution in the playing are
breathtaking, but underlying that is the conception of the
music as a whole. While the main characteristics of the
music of the Balkan countries (Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria and Greece), the time patterns, particular scales
and, not least, the total implications have certainly
intrigued Western players coming from a background of folk
related musics, it is a territory that few guitarists have
actually ventured into. Those that come to mind actually are
the ever exploratory Davey Graham, Paul Brady together with
Andy Irvine, and Ljubo Majstorovic who has something of an
unfair advantage. But Tim somehow seems to have thoroughly
absorbed the various idioms, his work is right in there and
will become surely a milestone for those that may wish to
follow.
"I got turned on to Balkan music
while traveling with my wife Chryll through Hungary and
Yugoslavia about five years ago. When we got back to the
States I started picking things off recordings that I
thought would lay nice on the guitar. I also started playing
with Mark Stillman, a great accordionist with a large
repertoire of Greek, Hungarian, Serbian and Jewish music.
This was invaluable in getting a handle on the style.
The things that most intrigued me
and were quite hard to digest were the so-called
"asymmetrical" meters. For example, "Melek N'ty Ubana" is in
7/8 which is subdivided as ||| || ||, "Oniro" which is in
9/8 ||| || || || and so on. From a fingerpicker's standpoint
these rhythms generate some interesting right-hand
patterns.
Some Balkan songs seem to have a
"flamenco" quality owing, no doubt, to the large communities
of refugees from the Spanish Inquisition that resettled in
the Balkans in the sixteenth century. It therefore seems
natural to sometimes utilize Spanish and Latin American
chordal devices. "Balkan Dreams" was arranged for a Mexican
requinto normally tuned a fourth higher than a regular
guitar. I follow Duck Baker's lead and tune the top string
to G# instead of A. That half step seems to add a lot in
warmth and playability."
Although the two works are in
themselves complete and self-contained they both draw on
traditional dance forms and sit remarkably well together in
this collection. It seems fitting that Tim's music should
have found an outlet through Peter Finger's Acoustic Music
label, which is fast becoming the home of the best in new
and innovative guitar playing. I can only add that if this
really is Tim Sparks' first record may there be many, many
more.
- John Renbourn
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