Serenade, I Miss You
Zeke Jarmon
Lemonade
Justice Philips
Serenade, I Miss You
Nicolas Hurt
The Springs
Claire Puckett
Lantern
Nicolas Hurt (guitar)
rec. 2022, Hurt’s childhood home, Austin, USA
Reviewed as MP3 download
Oak Recordings [23]

This disc differs from the bulk of guitar recordings insofar as it is the soundtrack for a short film. The cover photo depicts the guitarist lying stretched out on his back in the grass, seemingly relaxed, maybe sleeping, and most of the music is also laid back, low-voiced and contemplative. The film, created by Nicolas Hurt and premiered in Austin in April 2023, is titled Serenade, I Miss You. In the booklet notes, Hurt gives the background:

“In September of 2021 I commissioned new works for the guitar from friends of mine in Austin. The isolation of that year allowed me to think about who I am as a guitarist and how I might add something of value to the beautiful scene that I feel so lucky to be part of. Knowing myself as a player, I thought that recording the classics wasn’t going to be interesting. Commissioning music from more established composers also seemed a little out of my reach. So, I decided to work with what I had and who I knew, and I am so happy that I did.”

Gradually he thought he wanted something more than just to issue a disc and decided, in collaboration with his fellow-composers, to visualise the music and the people behind it. The end-product became a film “about  my love for the people, landscape and musicians of Austin.” This of course implies that the film is basically of local interest only for the inhabitants in the Austin region and of limited importance for someone living on another continent; consequently, I have focused solely on the music and its effect on me. 

I have already given a general view in the first paragraph of this review, but I will widen the scope somewhat. Even though these four compositions are contemporary and contemporaneous, they differ a lot stylistically. The opening piece, Zeke Jarman’s Lemonade, is retrospective with references to popular rock and folk music, melodious, beautiful and vaguely influenced by ragtime, and then we are back at the beginning of the previous century. It is immediately attractive music that should be appreciated by both the classical and popular camps. Justice Philips’ Serenade, I Miss You is soft, inward, like a meditation. Harmonically this music is more adventurous than Lemonade, but shouldn’t pose any problems for the general listener. 

Nicolas Hurt’s own contribution, The Springs, is in three movements but the different sections are not separately banded. Hillside is retiring and minimalistic, like most of the music on this disc. Ubiquitous Drum Circle, comes as a breath of fresh air: up-tempo, rhythmical, where the guitar mainly is used as a percussion instrument, while Under Deep Water (After Satie), is slow and fragmented with long pauses. The allusions to Satie concern Gymnopédies, but more to the atmosphere than any notable thematic references. 

Claire Puckett’s short Lantern is continually alive, forward moving and harmonically interesting within a tonal frame; a fresh finale. None of the pieces is technically very advanced, but Nicolas Hurt’s playing is assured and well-articulated. For non-American readers  it is worth noting that Austin is the tenth-most populous city in the United States with about one million inhabitants and one of the fastest-growing large cities in the States since 2010. It is certainly interesting to get a glimpse of the musical activities there through this disc. 

Göran Forsling 

Availability: Bandcamp