Islands

Guitar Interpretations of Celtic Music by Keith Hinchliffe
review by Richard Turner

In Islands: Guitar Interpretations of Celtic Music, British guitarist-arranger Keith Hinchliffe has put together perhaps the most beautiful set of pieces from the British Isles currently available for fingerstyle guitar.

The book consists of 23 one and two-page pieces and comes with a CD recording of the music. All of the pieces are in altered tunings and therefore most of the pieces are not as difficult to play as they sound. The score is provided both in staff notation and in tablature. The use of tablature is essential for playing in these radically altered tunings. The staff notation is presented in the keys as played on the CD. For example, a piece in an open G guitar tuning with a "capo second fret" direction would have its staff notation written in the key of A. This is not a problem, just don't forget your capo if you want to play along with the CD!

Even with the technical benefit of the altered tunings, this book is still at the intermediate to advanced technical level. It uses the upper positions of the instrument and barre chords as well as many slurs and ornaments. The score is presented with no fingerings except for occasional position indications for barre chords. It should be pretty easy for the intermediate or advanced player to finger these pieces. The author has a great understanding of movement on the fingerboard, and extremely difficult or awkward moves are non-existent.

Although the pieces themselves are short, Hinchliffe's recording provides many great ideas for the creative repetition of sections in order to lengthen the songs. Even with these repeats, this music is so beautiful that it never sounds boring or even repetitive! The quality of the CD is extraordinary. The author is a very fine technical guitarist and interpreter. His sense of phrasing is extremely sensitive and would make a great study in itself. In slow, heavily ornamented pieces such as "Lord Mayo," the CD is really essential in understanding the linear and rhythmic inflection.

The pieces contained in Islands are diverse both in style and origin. "Mabel Kelly" and "Morgan Magan" are well known pieces by blind Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan (1650-1738). Famous 18th century Scottish fiddler Niel Gow (1727-1807) is represented by his both noble and sad "Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife" and the lighter "Farewell to Whiskey." The 19th century Scottish composers Charles Grant and William Marshall (1748-1833) are also represented. In addition to these composed pieces many other traditional Irish, Scottish, Welch, and Manx tunes are included. All in all, the author has done a very thorough job of covering the British Isles in this volume.

Aside from two jigs and a strathspey (a type of reel) the pieces do not have dance titles, although many of them have a very dance-like character. The light Irish song "Off to California" with its quick quadruple pulse and slightly swinging eighth notes (as interpreted by Hinchliffe), definitely feels like a dance. Lively pieces in six-eight time such as "Humours of Castle Comer" could well be jigs. All of the pieces are in two sections with repeats and sometimes a return to the beginning. All of the pieces respond well to the added repeats as demonstrated by Hinchliffe without becoming tedious.

Contrasting with the lively dance-like pieces are the greatest treasures of this repertoire; these are the slow, mournful pieces which are frequently in minor tonalities such as the traditional Manx piece "The Sheep under the Snow." For this piece the guitar is tuned CGCGCD with a second fret capo specification. Unlike most pieces in the book, this piece frames the standard binary form with a tasteful introduction and a cadenza like coda. It is really a joy to hear and is even more fun to play.

The scale passages in this piece and many others are not difficult to execute because they are played mostly as cross-string arpeggios which classical players call campanellas. The open tunings are very conducive to executing this technique and the harp-like sound of these campanella passages completely suits this repertoire.

"Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife" is another gorgeous piece. Written in a major pentatonic tonality, this slow lament is both sad and incredibly noble. In its brief 25 measures the composer gives us a symphony's worth of emotion. It is not difficult, has just a few barre chords and a bit of passage work, and is tastefully ornamented. Here, and throughout this edition Keith Hinchliffe proves himself to be a very tasteful arranger; his style always compliments rather than interferes with the melody.

One of the most beautiful, spacious, and in some ways most difficult pieces in this collection is the traditional Irish song "Lord Mayo." The difficulty lies in the sometimes very long slurred passages and in the phrasing and rhythmic inflection. For this piece the CD is an essential aid. The tuning is DGDGGD and the unison second and third strings allow some very interesting effects.

Any fingerstyle player with solid technique would enjoy and benefit from this book. In particular, classical players who haven't worked with altered tunings will find this book to be a revelation. The different sounds available with altered tunings really opens up new worlds to those of us who are stuck in standard guitar tuning. Also, this repertoire will sound just as beautiful on a classical guitar as it does on the steel string acoustic used by Mr. Hinchliffe on the recording.

In Islands, we are fortunate to have presented to us a varied, beautifully arranged collection of pieces to share and to add to our repertoire. With the CD the book is priced at $17.95 and would be a great addition to any guitarist's library. Mr. Hinchliffe's CD alone would be worth the price. I encourage any intermediate to advanced classical or fingerstyle player to enjoy and experience this beautiful Celtic collection.

Richard Turner

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About the Author

After demonstrating an early interest in music with the clarinet and folk guitar, Richard Turner studied classical guitar with George Sakellariou and José Rey de la Torre and received Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music from San José State University.

Since 1994 Mr. Turner has taught in the large classical guitar program at California State University at Fullerton. Several years ago he revived his early interest in American roots music and developed a course in the history of American folk music which he also teaches at Cal State Fullerton. His instrumental interests are diverse, including classical guitar, slide guitar, banjo, and steel-string fingerpicking and flatpicking styles.