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Album cover for Overtures & Dances by Mēla Guitar Quartet
Releases

Overtures & Dances

Mēla Guitar Quartet

About the album

Overtures & Dances matured as a concept through years of touring and performing. Naturally, as we explored repertoire, we found pieces that resonated with audiences and had a special affinity with the quartet. These pieces tended to be ones that had a theatrical element in opera, ballet, or dance.

The possibilities of arrangement enabled by guitar quartet add another dimension, either using the spectrum of timbral colours of the guitar like “an orchestra in miniature” (as the great Andrés Segovia used to say), or to expand the music of one piano between four guitarists to make a rich, sustaining sonority, unobtainable with fewer guitars. We believe this collection of pieces pushes the boundaries of how guitar quartet can be used, but always in a way that best serves the storytelling, lyrical beauty, and often childlike wonder of these works.

Tracklist

Mikhail Glinka(arr. George Tarlton)

Ruslan and Lyudmila: Overture5:20

Claude Debussy(arr. George Tarlton)

2 Arabesques

No. 1, Andantino con moto4:35
No. 2, Allegretto scherzando3:48

Camille Saint-Saëns(arr. Daniel Bovey)

Samson et Delilah, Op. 47: Act III: Bacchanale7:31

Maurice Ravel(arr. Matthew Robinson)

Ma mère l'Oye, M. 60

I. Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant. Lent1:42
II. Petit Poucet. Très modéré3:12
III. Laideronnette, Impératrice des pagodes. Mouvement de marche3:35
IV. Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête. Mouvement de valse modéré4:13
V. Le jardin féerique. Lent et grave3:25

Sergei Rachmaninoff(arr. George Tarlton)

Polka italienne, TN ii/213:58

Gustav Holst(arr. George Tarlton)

A Fugal Overture, Op. 40 No. 14:56

Edward Elgar(arr. Zahrah Hutton)

3 Characteristic Pieces, Op. 10: No. 3, Contrasts: The Gavotte - A.D. 1700 and 19004:01

Engelbert Humperdinck(arr. George Tarlton)

Hänsel und Gretel: Overture7:51

Joe Hisaishi(arr. Daniel Bovey)

My Neighbour Totoro Suite5:38
Total playing time1:03:45

Artists

    Photo of Mēla Guitar Quartet

    Mēla Guitar Quartet

    guitar quartet

Composers

    Photo of Daniel Bovey

    Daniel Bovey

    Photo of Claude Debussy

    Claude Debussy

    1862–1918

    Photo of Edward Elgar

    Edward Elgar

    1857–1934

    Photo of Mikhail Glinka

    Mikhail Glinka

    1804–1857

    Photo of Joe Hisaishi

    Joe Hisaishi

    1950

    Photo of Gustav Holst

    Gustav Holst

    1874–1934

    Photo of Engelbert Humperdinck

    Engelbert Humperdinck

    1854–1921

    Photo of Zahrah Hutton

    Zahrah Hutton

    Photo of Sergei Rachmaninoff

    Sergei Rachmaninoff

    1873–1943

    Photo of Maurice Ravel

    Maurice Ravel

    1875–1937

    Photo of Matthew Robinson

    Matthew Robinson

    1985

    Photo of Camille Saint-Saëns

    Camille Saint-Saëns

    1835–1921

    Photo of George Tarlton

    George Tarlton

“The arrangements presented on this disc are almost uniformly excellent. The playing of the members of the Mela Guitar Quartet is impeccable, and their ensemble work is of a similarly high standard. The recorded sound is top class, with the balance between the instruments very nearly perfect, and subtle variations of timbre are well captured.”

Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International

“The arrangements, by past and present quartet members, invariably hit the mark, Daniel Bovey’s miniature suite based on Joe Hisaishi’s My Neighbour Totoro film score a delightful closer. TRPTK’s production values are high end, and the documentation is excellent.”

Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk

“This collection of pieces pushes the boundaries of how guitar quartets can be employed, but always in a way that best suits the story, lyrical beauty and often childlike wonder of these works.”

Reformatorisch Dagblad

“This is guitar ensemble music at the very highest level, technically brilliant, with all the varieties known to modern “classical” guitar playing and musically absolutely convincing. A CD that is simply fun!”

Ursula Magnes, Radio Klassik Stephansdom

“The quartet's reputation is confirmed by these renditions to be at the absolute top and the recording is — we already know it from Brendon Heinst — in a class of its own. The balance between the four instruments is perfect, just as the exquisite timbres come to life particularly beautifully.”

Aart van der Wal, Opus Klassiek

“Sometimes it is hard to believe that you are really listening to four guitars, and not a harpsichord, a celesta, a chopping board or even a harp. The Mela Guitar Quartet convinces with glowing interplay in music by Debussy, Ravel, Glinka, Elgar and Joe Hisaishi (from the Japanese animated classic My Neighbor Totoro), among others. Delightful.”

Joep Stapel, NRC

“Playing instruments crafted by British luthier Michael Gee, the award-winning quartet exploits the timbral potential of the guitar to create new versions that don't necessarily replicate the familiar arrangements of the works through transcription but instead recast the material anew. The dense, intricate tapestries presented throughout the release by Mela Guitar Quartet beguile from start to finish, and the stellar playing by the group is never less than exacting.”

Ron Schepper, Textura

“I'm truly impressed by a few recordings each year, and rarely am I overawed, like I am by Mēla. It's not only that these four guitarists play as one or that they do so with palpable allure and glamour, but that they also have the most accurate fingers I've heard yet in the classical guitar world. Can four nylon-stringed hollow bodies replace an entire orchestra? When they play this merrily and with such attention to tonal variety, abso-damn-lutely.”

Stephen Estep, The Absolute Sound

Credits

Producer, recording & mastering engineerBrendon Heinst
EditorHans Erblich
Cover artworkZahrah Hutton
Session photographyBrendon Heinst
GenreRomanticContemporary
InstrumentationChamber
Recording dateAugust 2024
Recording locationd'Rentmeester, Valthermond (NL)
Recording formatDSD 11.2 MHz 1 bit
Mastering formatPCM 352.8 kHz 64 bit
Cat. No.TTK0145
EAN6096041298203
Release date24 January 2025
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Technical specifications

MicrophonesJosephson Engineering C617 w/ Microtech Gefell MK221 capsulesJosephson Engineering C42
Microphone preamplifiersGrace Design m801mk2
AD/DA conversionMerging Technologies Hapi MkIIMerging Technologies AnubisGrimm Audio CC2 master clock
LoudspeakersGrimm Audio LS1beGrimm Audio SB1Genelec 8030CW
HeadphonesAudeze LCD-X
CablingPurecable Optimus microphone cablesPurecable Optimus power cablesGrimm Audio TPR microphone cablesGrimm Audio TPR8 breakout cables
Misc.Pura Power Supplies the DodoPura Power Supplies the SauropodaPura Power Supplies the NautilusComputer Audio Design GC3
Format