The Rebels Within

Tour de force!

     

This fantastic disc is an excellent introduction to the technical and expressive capabilities of the guitar. Adam Brown’s lyrical and emotive performances of these approachable modern classics does well to hide the virtuosity needed to bring off the artful renditions these works deserve. For me, the true revelation of this disc was Britten’s ‘Nocturnal after John Dowland, Op.70’. This set of theme and variations (where the theme unusually comes at the end) is a true tour de force. Brown takes the listener on a powerful journey from the opening movement titled ‘Musingly’ through to the Passacaglia, the penultimate and largest movement, which reaches an apotheosis that can only be followed by the Dowland theme, the seed from which the rest of the piece was born. Brown’s performance of the Dowland theme is worth special note. It is a simple, no frills, interpretation that lets the beauty of the subtle lines and harmonic changes speak for themselves and perfectly rounds off Britten’s masterpiece. This is definitely a disc worth owning!