New York City Guitar Orchestra: Spectra: New Music for Guitar Orchestra

Founded around 14 years ago by the New York City Classical Guitar Society, the New York City Guitar Orchestra is not only a lively, expert ensemble but also is clearly responsible for much new music for its forces. This release is both a climactic event and parting gesture for Jason Sagabiel, who has led this ensemble since its founding. Nicoletta Todesco, who directs some of the music here, is his successor (and if the tracks are anything to go by, a worthy one).

Instead of opting for a bright and bash opener, the NY Guitar Orchestra opens with Frederic Hand’s Chorale of 2012. Hand’s music turned up on Duo Sequenza’s Navona disc Yes ... It’s Still a Thing (see my interview in Fanfare 46:3). The Chorale is a piece of great beauty, and the sound of multiple guitars adds gravitas. David Leisner’s Medalanes Morning (2019) is reflective, but with disruptive elements, both timbrally and harmonically. It seems to work best on headphones (I auditioned both those and speakers). It is inspired by sounds heard in the high desert of New Mexico at sunrise. Aleatoric procedures are used, which may mean those disruptions occur at different points in different performances. A New York City Guitar Orchestra co-commission, it is highly effective and performed superbly. The recording is almost forensic in its reproduction of lines—and many simultaneous lines, at that. A full disc of Leisner’s guitar works was released by Çedille, reviewed by Robert Schulslaper in 30:6.

Dave Hart’s Granada (2012), a NY City Guitar Orchestra commission, offers easy-on-the-ear respite; it’s worth noting how well the New York group balances melody and accompaniment. Brighter are João Luiz’ Three Brazilian Pieces of 2012, and somewhat spikier, too. My colleague Henry Fogel found playfulness in Luiz’ Three Flying Kites in Fanfare 47:2; here, this is more like an unforced easiness of communication. This is performed by the Brooklyn Guitar Quartet (Carlos Cuestas, Lars Frandsen, John Olson, and Mathew Rosenthal). The performance is simply superb, although the recording seems quite close. Particularly evocative is the central movement, “Kirsten.”

Originally for guitar quartet, Andrew York’s Catwalk is performed by the New York orchestra under Nicoletta Todesco. Spicy and slinky, its greatest surprise is that it does not overstay its welcome. His piece Andecy, reviewed in Fanfare 32:6 and performed there by Sharon Isbin, hinted at South America, according to Schulslaper; I hear more Spain in Catwalk (York did actually study in that country). York was a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet until 2009.

It’s nice to hear some Minimalism in the layers of repetitions that make up Joshua Eustis and Alfredo Noguera’s How Slowly, All of a Sudden (2012). Harmonics grace the piece’s center, creating a glassy melody. The discipline required to perform this music well is extreme, and the New York City Guitar Orchestra members have it in spades.

Surprisingly, Clarice Assad’s Magnetic Trance begins with singing (from the players, I assume). Assad has impressed me before, via her trumpet concerto Bohemian Queen (on Çedille, with Mary Ann Bowden, Fanfare 48:1) and her The Book of Spells (Fanfare 48:2). Magnetic Trance is again Minimalist at heart, but Assad deliberately inserts what she calls “stressed out” moments. The voices and bodies of the performers create special effects, while extended techniques are required on the guitars. This is a piece that rewards repeated listening, for sure.

I was certainly very taken by an Albany disc of music by Jonathan Pieslak in Fanfare 38:2 (so, around a decade ago). It’s nice to make his acquaintance again. Ambienspheres is not as banal as its title might imply (yes, I know that is biased, but I have not exactly been enamored with much ambient music). The textural variety and seething tremolos conspire to create an experience that is more impactful than the work’s short duration might imply, and the guitar orchestra under Sagebiel is entrancing.

There is an interesting interview available on YouTube with composer Pat Irwin regarding his piece Unsung Hymn for a Friend (2012). Inspired by actually hearing the New York City Guitar Orchestra in concert, Irwin grabbed at the opportunity to write for them. Irwin once was a member of a rock band, and this piece commemorates a member of that band who sadly passed away. This is therefore a tribute to that performer, and includes speculation as to what he might be like if he were around today (which allows for a more animated section after the initial mourning).

I loved William Anderson’s disc Hausmusik (Furious Artisans, Fanfare 39:6) , which he directed but to which he also contributed his own Guitar Variations (on a theme by Jerome Kern). Here is a group of folk songs, performed by a guitar quartet (members listed in the headnote). Originally for soprano/mezzo and string orchestra, they also exist in versions for two guitars (you can hear this reduction on the composer’s website), voice, and two guitars, or the present guitar quartet. There is magic aplenty here, anyway—especially, I would suggest, in the fourth song, “Whistle, Daughter, Whistle.” The tune is haunting, as is the scoring, and the performance is absolutely immaculate. This is all guitar, obviously, but what a variety of sound is here, and indeed technique. Try the finale, in which the subtitle gives a clue as to what I mean: “The Farmer is the Man (The Counterpoint of Supertonics).”

You’ve heard of Bachianas; here’s Jason Sagebiel’s 2017 piece Bachirvanas. It is absolutely intriguing. Sagabiel clearly has a fascination with the minutiae of harmony. As the music expands to more linear investigations, it as if Sagabiel is involved in the very act of discovery before a final sense of exultant togetherness. The result is lovely.

The Tokyo-based composer Takuma Tanikawa is new to the Fanfare Archive, I believe. His 2011 piece Mist is as atmospheric as the title would imply (and surely Oriental composers are particularly good at this sort of sound evocation). Perhaps pentatonic melodies are inevitable here, but they sound just right when they arrive. The musicians use effects, too (drumming on their guitars, it sounds like, and also what could be flautando glissandos). Tanikawa sets up an individual field of sound, and it is certainly one I would like to return to (or one like it; sadly, his website is down at the time of writing).

Gyan Riley is an American guitarist and composer. Under Fanfare house rules, we have to be careful to specify that he is not “T.” Riley in the headnote—quite right, considering Gyan is actually Terry’s son. Premiered at the Queen’s New Music Festival, The Landloper clearly reflects Gyan’s jazz emphasis, coupled with some perhaps unsurprising Minimalist tendencies. Part of me wants to say, “So this is what Minimalism was for,” but that is perhaps unfair to a certain Mr. Glass. Everyone seems to have fun, anyway, as the piece slowly expands out into a kaleidoscope of guitarish sounds punctuated with guitarish pinpricks of light. Those speckles of light find an autonomous existence around five minutes in, finding their own way to hypnotize the listener. Later, ideas are literally thrown around the sound space. At over a quarter of an hour, there is plenty to get one’s teeth into here. But more, please.

Davod Loeb is known for his explorations of the music of the Orient, and one can certainly here that in his six-movement Concerto for Four Guitars and Orchestra. Here it is the sound of the gamelan that comes to mind most often, rather than overt pentatonicism. The slow third movement (Moderato) is particularly noteworthy as an unashamed exploration of sonority, daring and beautiful; the slower fifth movement (Adagio) is even more profound. Sudden interruptions are part of Loeb’s vocabulary, but they stem from an underlying lyricism.

Australian composer Richard Charlton has been reviewed previously in Fanfare (notably, multiple reviews of his Suite Latina on the Ethnoclassics label, 42:5). Here we have his two-movement Inner Voices from 2013. Highly atmospheric, parts of the first movement sound improvised; the second (Allegretto con moto) is tighter. The soloist for this piece, Peter Argondizza, is clearly highly skilled as both a soloist and chamber musician; he knows exactly how to gauge his lines in relation to the surrounding activity.

Finally, there comes a piece by Joseph Parisi (not to be confused with Buffalo- born composer Stephen Parisi), Guitar Brigade. The first movement is blissfully easy on the ear, yet well composed and performed. The second begins in a darker space, for sure, but that allows for a gradual brightening, while the finale has an energy that refuses to be suppressed. The composer is the soloist on this recording, which undeniably adds gravitas to this release.

The sound is fabulous throughout (I streamed this from iDagio). The release appears to be available from all major suppliers, including Bandcamp and Pro Studio Masters.

What a collection this is! This is absolutely not just for guitarists; there is a huge variety of sound and musical languages here. Recommended.

— Colin Clarke, 1.10.2025