Frederic Hand: Samatureya
Panoramic Recordings

Before listening to Samatureya, Frederic Hand's second release on the New Focus Recordings imprint Panoramic Recordings, I wondered whether it could possibly match the high standard set by the classical guitarist's earlier Odyssey. No more than a single listen was needed to confirm that the new set is in every way as satisfying. It impresses on multiple levels: as both a composer and guitarist, Hand is remarkably gifted, and though the release features ten chamber and solo works (two of them multi-part), it exemplifies satisfying shape and cohesiveness. That it does so is no small feat when the album compiles material recorded at different times (Chorale in mid-2017 whereas Heart's Song, For Lenny, Elegy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., About Time, and Lesley's Song stem from 2000) and in some cases by different instrumental groupings. While many tracks feature Hand alone, Trio, for example, features the playing of Trio Virado (flutist Amy Porter, violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez, guitarist João Luiz), with its version first presented on the group's debut release Mangabeira. In addition, Samatureya includes contributions from Brasil Guitar Duo (João Luiz, Douglas Lora) and flutist Paula Robison.

As listeners acquainted with Odyssey know, Hand brings a wealth of experience to his creative process. A one-time student of Julian Bream's, Hand has been the Metropolitan Opera's guitarist and lutenist since 1984, is a Mannes School of Music faculty member, and has contributed as a composer and player to numerous television and film productions, among them Kramer vs Kramer, Sesame Street, and The Guiding Light. Such a remarkable background has provided Hand with a bountiful well-spring from which to draw as a composer.

His solo performances are a constant delight, whether it be a dignified elegy written in 1968 to mourn the passing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or affectionate homages to Hand's wife, Lesley, and Leonard Bernstein. In addition to the melodic richness of the compositions and the fundamental contrasts in their character, there's Hand's playing, which is distinguished by sensitivity of touch, taste, and unerring command of tempo and dynamics. Never are such qualities more evident than during that aforementioned elegy, its quiet grandeur so movingly conveyed by Hand's performance, or the opening Chorale, a setting inspired by renaissance and baroque choral music that features the guitarist performing all four parts in an adaptation of an original score written for a larger ensemble. In drawing for inspiration from Brahms' Intermezzo No. 2 in A major, Opus 118, Heart's Song presents Hand's classical side to glorious effect, especially when it shows the guitarist deftly segueing between dazzling tremolo episodes and others rich in heartfelt expression. Samba, on the other hand, shows him expertly switching gears for a swinging, Bossa Nova-styled setting that oozes charm.

Hand was so impressed by Trio Virado's performance of Trio, which the composer wrote for guitarist Luiz when he was a Master's degree student at the Mannes College of Music, that he decided to include the group's treatment rather than a newly recorded one of his own. It's easy to see why: Luiz's graceful playing shows that he clearly learned much from his former teacher, and the flute and viola performances of Porter and Hernandez add considerably to the loveliness of the piece, whether the material in question is gentle and reflective (“Light Through the Trees”) or samba-inflected and infectious (“Samatureya”). Luiz also appears alongside Brasil Guitar Duo partner Lora on the elegant meditation Still, in which Hand uses three-note motifs as a springboard for elaborate interlacings between the players.

On a recording where the performances are never less than stellar, The Maverick stands out for pairing Hand with Paula Robison, regarded as one of the great solo flutists of her generation and whose career has spanned a half-century on the international concert stage. He composed the four-movement work in 2015 as a commission to celebrate the centennial season of Maverick Concerts, a summer chamber music festival situated near Woodstock, NY. Displaying masterful pitch, control, and a vibrato-rich tone, Robison proves to be an eloquent partner to Hand in the wide-ranging work. Regardless of whether the expression is exultant joy (“Celebration”), humble appreciation (“Gratitude”), or folk-inflected declamation (“Mountain Song”), The Maverick distinguishes itself as one of the recording's finest accomplishments.

June 2018