David Russell’s Debut Album on Azica Records

courtesy of Naxos of America

This month began with guitarist David Russell making his debut on Azica Records with an album entitled Cantigas de Santiago. The entire album consists of music written for him by three composers. The album title is also the title of a seven-movement suite by Stephen Goss, which accounts for the opening tracks. This is followed by the three-movement suite by Matthew Dunne entitled Landmarks. The remainder of the album is devoted to three “Portrait” compositions by Sergio Assad.

Russell was born in Glasgow, but his family moved to Menorca when he was five years old. Since that time he has been based in Spain, now residing in Santiago de Compostella, the capital of Galicia. The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, the apostle of Jesus Christ; and it is the goal of a pilgrimage whose path is known as the Way of St. James and is supposedly guided by the stars in the Milky Way. When San Francisco Performances (SFP) presented its Front Row Travels series of streamed videos, the first “trip” was to Russell’s “home town.”

Cantigas de Santiago was the only contemporary composition that Russell played on his program. Goss structured his suite around three medieval sources. The central movement is based on the so-called “Kyrie Trope,” based on plainchant from the Missa cunctipotens genitor Deus. On either side of this movement are instrumental interludes included in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, a lengthy monodic cycle of songs all describing miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary. These, in turn are flanked by two of the songs in the Cantigas de Amigo collection; and the entire cycle begins and ends with songs from the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Those not familiar with Spanish music from the Middle Ages may not appreciate the themes that constitute this telescoped structure; but Russell’s performance still makes for an absorbing listening experience, even for those that do not appreciate the finer details.

Landmarks may be approached as Dunne’s efforts to capture in music his personal impressions of Russell. The title of the first movement is “Camilliola;” and it refers to the jazz club where Dunne used to play. The second movement is the obligatory lyric interlude entitled “Canción.” Things then pick up again in the final movement, “Reel Variations,” which reflects of Russell’s origins in Scotland.

The three Assad portraits are performed in the order in which they were composed. The first was a portrait of the Austrian/Canadian guitar teacher Eli Kassner, written to celebrate his 80th birthday; and the thematic material is based on the spelling of Kassner’s name. The second was a three-movement homage to Sandy Bolton, who was a major supporter of the Guitar Department of the University of Arizona in Tucson. This piece was composed using the same technique based on the spelling of Bolton’s name. Both of these compositions were performed for the first time by Russell. The third portrait is for Russell himself. This time the spellings were based on the names of members of his immediate family. The piece also includes reflections on dance themes from both Scotland and Spain. Once again the first performance was given by Russell.

Taken as a whole, this album has much to offer the attentive listener, particularly those of us that have enjoyed experiences of Russell in performances here in San Francisco, thanks to the consistent attention he has received from SFP.