Michael Wood

Julian Bream – Homage to Andres Segovia

michaelwoodguitar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:59:32 +0000

I wanted to include some of my favourite guitar albums on my site and this Julian Bream recording could well be my favourite recording of all time.

The recording on this album are works that were inspired by Andres Segovia, or where commissioned by him. The recording of pieces by Torroba, Mompou, Falla and Turina (with the addition of Fantasia by Roberto Gerhard) are among the best I can think of. The album, which was recorded at the Wardour chapel in Dorset, represents Bream at his very best – intense, impassioned and sincere. The Jose Ramirez that Bream plays echoes like thunder through the rasguedo passages of The Miller’s Dance and sings through the dissonant beauty of the Coral in Mompou’s Suite Compostelana.

You can come across this recording now for around £5 online, and I suggest that you buy of copy. (If you don’t already have it!).

Simon Ambridge – Guitar Maker

michaelwoodguitar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:56:12 +0000

This weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with the great guitar maker Simon Ambridge. Simon has been making guitars for over 20 years, and is based in a small workshop in Devon. He generously offered the opportunity for me to play one of his recently completed guitars.

Playing a newly completed guitar is always an interesting experience. The guitar I played was had only been strung the previous day, but the sound was already well balanced with an great sense of separation (i.e. different tones in a multi voice passages kept their ‘separate’ feel). Like a fine wine, guitars mature before they develop their full tone, but there was no doubt that this guitar was of the highest class.

Simon’s guitars are made in the in the Hauser / Torres style and use a traditional fan-strutting system. Many guitar makers are experimenting with a variety of different constructions (e.g. the ‘taut’ strutting system developed by Paul Fischer or the lattice bracing of Greg Smallman), however, the character and depth of tone achieved by the more traditional constructions are, for me, unbeatable.

While writing this post, I was trying to think of way to describe the sound of Simon’s guitar in words, but gave up. However, I did find this video of Simon’s guitar making process with music by Stephen Kenyon. I hope you enjoy it.

Welcome

michaelwoodguitar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:05:59 +0000

Welcome to my new site – I hope you enjoy listening to my music.

If you would like to find out more about bookings for weddings and corporate events, please contact me.

Over the next few months I will be adding posts with helpful advice for guitar pupils, along with inspiration from other guitarists and musicians. I hope you enjoy reading.