Airs and Ballads for Classic Guitar (John Lehmann-Haupt)

A dozen of the most beautiful traditional melodies from the British Isles and North America are arranged here as concert pieces, with rich harmonies and variations. Carefully voiced and fingered for fluidity and effectiveness, the collection offers a wide range of style and expression.

“Barbara Allen” and “The Three Ravens” are strongly influenced by the Elizabethan lute tradition, while “John Riley” and “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies” have a more contemporary feel. “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” and “Lament for Owen Roe O’Neill” are studies in somber intensity, the modal “She Moved Through the Fair” sounds the ancient connection between Arabic and Celtic music, and “Banks of the Ohio” provides an interlude of gentle bluegrass swing, with a hint of gospel.

SONGLIST:
Banks of the Ohio
Barbara Allen
Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair
Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies
I Never Will Marry
John Riley
Lament for Owen Roe O’Neill
Down by the Salley Gardens
She Moved Through the Fair
Shenandoah
The Three Ravens
The Water Is Wide