Classical CD Reviews
"Harting-Ware has an enjoyable way about the instrument . Guitar fans take note." -The North Jersey Herald & News.
Free violin and guitar
MP3 excerpt of Ware's Chama for violin and guitar from the CD Americas
Impossible Dream
"The CCM Contemporary Music Ensemble brings experience and
understanding to its telling performances of compositions by Gerhard
Samuel, Richard Jordan Smoot, and Peter Ware. The Smoot and Ware are
fine pieces, staking out their musical territories and exploring them
fully. The Samuel is a small masterpiece, a richly evocative elegy and a
fascinating essay in counterpoint and orchestration. Lynn
Harting-Ware gives a finely nuanced performance of the solo part in the
Smoot Concerto. Her playing is remarkably clean, with all details
audible. This is a fine disc, one that repays close
and repeated hearings." -American Record Guide
The Many
Moods of the Guitar
"In The Blue Guitar, a suite of six brief pieces by William Roberts, each
section is sharply characterized and has plenty of rhythmic bite." -Winnipeg Free
Press
AMERICAS
"The
recording in its entirety is a masterpiece of guitar performance with
impeccable sound quality. It is a beautiful journey from the beginning of
Baroque with Dowland’s tender music to most recent Carastathis, who
explores the possibilities of the instrument and the development of an
eight notes melodic line with polyphonic treatment. I admit that “Four
Vignettes” along with “Variations on O Canada” by Lynn Harting-Ware are,
in my opinion, not only the most intriguing works of this recording but
they could also very well become part of standard modern guitar
repertoire. In addition, these works can be quite successful in live
concert performance as they involve a number of sound effects. I should
also mention the work “American Variations” for violin and guitar by
Rollins (here James Wallenberg is exceptional), a quite attractive blend
of American music history with jazz and blues elements." -Jazz
& Tzaz (Athens,
Greece)
AMERICAS
“Of note is her performance of Wind
Dance by Peter Ware, which should soon find its way into the repertoire
of other guitarists, and the lyrical Folksong Suite by Doug Dawson, which
includes beautiful contemporary arrangements of “Auralee”, “Danny
Boy” Loch Lomond”, and Black is the colour of my True Love’s Hair”.
Other high points are Dowland’s Fantasia and Harting-Ware’s own
set of variations on “O Canada”, both very well played.
This is an interesting and worthwhile recording of some new as well
as familiar repertoire” –American Record Guild
CHAMA "THE EAGLE
AND THE PLUMED SERPENT"
"...one of the most compelling things I have heard in years for flute and guitar.
. . . there is this same free exchange of tensions- moving from the calm to the very
tense. Musical ideas are worked out in a very evocative way. Played properly
this music will dazzle an audience and thrill the players." -J. Bent,
Soundboard
Angelica:
ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING II
"The stillness in this piece, its waiting to move DOES suggest a
beginning.......light harmonics, falling arpeggios....a hint of a melody that moves
forward......very tonal, but unexpected in juxtaposition....a piece to lead you
on.....lots of sounds made from parts of the instrument, not the strings. " -Alternate
Music Press
Impossible Dream: CONCERTO FOR GUITAR Richard J. Smoot
At 11:19 the Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra is the shortest work on this
disc. It's baroque brevity belies the richness of the music which has a cool oriental
palette of Japanese scales and motifs giving the piece a broad vision that is often
evocative. As a composer / guitarist, Smoot knows the subtle modulations that suit his
instrument and there are hints of Villa-Lobos in some of the thematic treatments. The
third movement, with its pounding march-like theme is a fitting conclusion to a compact
and lively concerto." -Tim Panting, Classical Guitar Magazine
Forest
Scenes & Angelica:
ELEGY & TOTENTANZ
& FOREST
SCENES
"Born at Richmond, Virginia, in 1951, Ware offers melodic content that is quite
strong, Totentanz
a fascinating score with a motoric rhythm that drives the work forward. Equally appealing
are the highly descriptive pieces that form Forest Scenes, the
section, Woodchuck Blues,
being a wonderful, tongue-in-cheek look at a lazy blues." -David
Denton, Fanfare
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
FANTASY-RICERCARE AND DANCE:
"The music itself is elegant stuff. It is written in two voices
throughout. The fingerings are sparse but adequate, and the printing is clear and
spacious so that reading this is a delight." -J. Mayes, Soundboard
Angelica
"A La Luz De La Luna
Llena by Daniel Nightingale
is way more mysterious and ancient in its feel. Feels more like a hike in the Peruvian
Andes looking for Inca ruins to uncover the secrets of that high society. " -Alternate
Music Press
The
Many Moods of the Guitar:
MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRIT
"Stephen Elderkin has written a little 'gem' of a new age sounding piece. The
guitar sounds like a 20th-century instrument without any hint of dissonance.
. . .this is very accessible music- both for performer and listener; there is variety of
sound and it is easy to play." -J. Mayes, Soundboard
The
Many Moods of the Guitar:
"Peter Ware's Nakina is a
probing, introspective work imbued with elements of jazz and blues."
-Classical Music
Order The Many Moods of the Guitar Now!
Angelica
"Baltimore Sonata by Doug Dawson is lovely and to be counted as a bridge
between "old time art music" and turn of the century experiments. This is simply
a lovely piece of music one would love to have played at your table in a fine
restaurant....or on the concert stage. A Blues is in the second movement and everything in
this piece screams AMERICAN!" -Alternate Music Press
The
Many Moods of the Guitar:
"Kathy Henkel's River Sky,
is a gentle and evocative work inspired by Ms Harting-Ware's poem of the same
name." -Classical Guitar
The
Many Moods of the Guitar:
"Sonare is a 110-measure,
intermediate level guitar solo. It is full of meter changes and employs modern
harmonic language in a very pleasant manner. Sonare falls comfortably under the left
hand with no difficult extensions. Alternating Largo and Moderato sections, this is
a very relaxing piece to play. Modern yet tame, alot of players will enjoy this
piece." -R. Turner, Soundboard
Impossible
Dream:
KABAH:
"An exotically evocative piece, describing the atmosphere and spirit of the place
with eerie harmonics, long-held notes and often sparse harmonies conveying a sense of vast
emptiness and antiquity." -The Washington Post "Kabah, inspired by a Mayan ruin
in Mexico's Yucatan peninsular, is a forceful and intense piece that yields little to the
narrative style." -Tim Panting, Classical Guitar magazine
MP3 from Impossible Dream
Free MP3 of
Peter Ware's String Octet Kabah 1st movment from the CD Impossible Dream
Free string octet MP3 excerpt of Peter Ware's string octet Kabah 2nd movement
Free string octet MP3 excerpt of Peter Ware's string octet Kabah 3rd movement
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
"Her essentially lyric way with the music revels in the intimacies of color and
liquid tone." -Los Angeles Times
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
"The playing is clean, idiomatic and fluent and shows both sympathy and expertise
with a wide variety of styles." -The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Forest
Scenes:
"Particularly interesting is Harting-Ware's arrangement of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Granted, she gives us only 10 of the
30 variations and has only six strings at her disposal, but it is nonetheless fascinating
to hear how adaptable contrapuntal music is to a change of instruments." -William
Littler, The Toronto Star.
Impossible Dream:
"Harting-Ware plays with a warmth and vigour that builds on the foundations of some
attractive music. Musically, this CD is for those who venture further than their own front
door. One cannot help but be affected by it."
-Tim Panting, Classical Guitar Magazine
Order Impossible
Dream Now!
The Many
Moods of the Guitar:
"All the music is very well played and recorded. A fine, ambitious program,
with plenty to interest collectors of guitar music and new music." -Fanfare
Magazine
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
". . . fresh material, led by Richard Smoot's Brouweresque Music for the Waiting Angel,
Kathy Henkel's deftly shaped River Sky
mysteries and Peter Ware's pungent, poignant Nakina
suite." Los Angeles Times
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
". . . she frames the album splendidly with the music of Spanish master Francisco
Tárrega, prefacing with his Adelita, Lágrima, and Maria while concluding with a stirring
performance of the almost archetypical classical guitar work Recuerdos de la Alhambra.
Encore!" Classical Music Magazine
Forest
Scenes:
"To capture on one instrument the significance of the Goldbergs
is quite an acomplishment and her affection for it comes through." -Mark Adams,
The J.S. Bach Home.
Order Forest Scenes Now!
The Many
Moods of the Guitar:
". . . from clean design and engineering to the sure and fluent technique at the
heart of things, Harting-Ware's latest album is a triumph. Her performance of 28
small movements, which are gathered in an appealing succession of suites or compatible
units, never feels rushed, pressured or restrained." -Kitchener-Waterloo Record
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
"She plays so well that the colorful, poetical new pieces blend imperceptibly with
standards such as Tárrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Adelita."
-The Tribune (Oakland)
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
"Move over Liona Boyd! A new Canadian guitarist is beginning to make
waves . . . Her technique is precise, as is her interpretation of the music at
hand. Here is a guitarist dedicated to her craft." The Tribune (Welland)
The Many Moods of the
Guitar:
"First, and most importantly, Lynn Harting-Ware is a superb player. She's
not only excellent technically, easily handling special techniques like pizzicato and
harmonics, but is also an excellent interpreter. Her performance of Recuerdos de la Alhambra is one of the best I
have ever heard!" -H P Review
Impossible Dream:
"Peter Ware's 'Kabah'
begins with a haunting, almost eerie prestissimo appassionato accented by sweeping strings
and a bed of low notes under a single hanging violin line, creating a sense of awe and
mystery. In the andante con mosso, low note clusters are again used to create that sense
of weight, the weight of years. Maybe it's just the unsettling nature of the
arrangement that makes presto con brio convey such a sinister feel." -The North
Jersey Herald & New
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
"Lynn Harting-Ware deserves greater recognition. She plays unusual repertoire,
demonstrating a high degree of originality and confidence."
-Network Magazine
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
". . . one of Canada's most accomplished and sensitive classical guitarists is strong
proof that creativity remains one of our prime renewable resources."
-Kitchener-Waterloo Record
The Many Moods of the Guitar:
"What is to be appreciated first of all, is the ability of this artist to accommodate
her playing to such a vast variety of styles. She does so with commendable
ability. The result is an easy-flowing total presentation that without difficulty
moves the listener from one form to another." -Copley News Service
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