Silent Mountain

Format: CD
Label: Raccanto
Release date: March 2010
Catalogue no: rc007
Available from: Raccanto, Germany

Lennox Berkeley Society review

On his CD Silent Mountain, guitarist Stefan Barcsay gives an excellent performance that is very well shaped musically and with a sensitive touch, always giving a feeling of nuance. The recorded sound is clear and transparent to the qualities just stated.

The programme is an interesting selection, which, with its reflective theme, goes together well. The title track Silent Mountain by the Chinese composer Qu Xiao Song was one of my favourite pieces here.

I listened to the Berkeley piece, Theme and Variations (op. 77), with the score in front of me, and again the careful phrasing was apparent, together with a feel for harmonic subtlety. Barcsay keeps to the required tempo for each section, although perhaps a stricter pulse would be better for the second variation.

Variation three is especially delightful – Berkeley uses the same repeated note technique for The Moth from Songs of the Half Light (op. 65) for high voice and guitar. The Epilogue was another favourite section, and concluded the work really well.

Christopher Daly

• Theme and Variations (op. 77)

Performed by Stefan Barcsay (guitar)