It has been said that the world doesn’t need another guitarist playing Spanish music! New Zealand classical guitarist, Matthew Marshall can’t recall who said it, but the comment had a significant impact on him.
While establishing his career in the late 80s and early 90s, it became clear that to make an impression and sustain a presence in a crowded music market, Matthew needed to identify and develop a distinctive approach, so he determined to focus predominantly on works by New Zealand composers.
With each passing decade, the repertoire of works for classical guitar by New Zealand composers grows, in part as a result of Matthew’s determination to commission works from a range of talented composers.
One of the great things about being a musician is that we get to play with other musicians and artists. Playing chamber music with others is one of the most fulfilling experiences we can have and for me to do this through music from my own country is especially gratifying. It is inspiring, insightful and humbling.
The idea for this album began in 2016 when I decided I’d like to record a collection of chamber works for guitar by New Zealand composers with performers who were friends and colleagues but who lived in different countries. The plan was that I would visit them, record music with them in their locations with different recording engineers and producers and then bring it all back to New Zealand to put it together. At that time, I was living in Australia; Tessa Petersen and Heleen du Plessis were in Dunedin, New Zealand; Carol Hohauser was in New Jersey, USA; and Sir Jon Trimmer and Dame Kate Harcourt were in New Zealand in Kapiti and Wellington respectively. Logistics were going to be an issue… however, with the goodwill of many and a little funding from some generous others, we managed to make it happen. It has been a thrill to bring this multi-national New Zealand project to fruition.
All works on this album are world premiere recordings and have personal meaning for me. Anthony Ritchie’s Autumn Moods was commissioned especially for a tour of New Zealand that I did with cellist Heleen du Plessis in 2017. Philip Norman’s Tense Melodies is one I have long performed with flutist Carol Hohauser, and in fact we gave the first public performance of it in the town of Feilding as part of a Chamber Music New Zealand tour in 1995. Kenneth Young’s Suite for violin and guitar is a fascinating work I have known of for many years and always wanted to play. It wasn’t until Tessa Petersen and I performed it in 2017 that we were able to realise this. The centerpiece of the album, Philip Norman’s It’s Love, Isn’t It? for two reciters, guitar and the sound of the sea was commissioned by me in 2017. To perform and record this wonderfully heartfelt new work with Sir Jon Trimmer and the inimitable Dame Kate Harcourt has been an absolute pleasure and privilege.
Matthew Marshall, November 2020
