Andrew blanch and emily granger in ‘Suite mágica’

After a successful inaugural tour across the Central West and Southern Tablelands, Music in the Regions is continuing to bring high quality classical music performances to regional NSW audiences, with its next series of concerts to the Mid North Coast in May featuring celebrated guitarist Andrew Blanch and harpist Emily Granger.

For this tour, which will stop in Coramba (near Coffs Harbour), Nambucca Heads, Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Tuncurry, Blanch and Granger will pair up for Suite mágica, where the extraordinary combination of guitar and harp will be applied to a selection of works that display the energy, versatility and beauty of these much-loved instruments.

Suite mágica will showcase Blanch and Granger sharing some of the finest music from their explorations, including exciting new commissions by Australia’s leading composers, arrangements of popular favourites, and more.

Rarely seen together, this instrumental pairing is at once both fresh and familiar. Side by side on stage, the instruments face each other like an enchanted reflection – with striking visual and aural similarities. In this way, the sound world created by these two plucked string instruments is not dissimilar to that of a guitar duo – the harp, with its 47 resonant strings and a collection of extended techniques, providing an expanded range of expressive possibilities to the more common two-guitar pairing.

Blanch and Granger fell in love with the expressive potential of this ensemble while on the other side of the world in late 2019. Both were in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and working on material for their own solo recording projects.

Despite both living in Sydney, the two had not previously crossed paths and were excited to find a like-minded collaborator. They quickly set to work exploring the existing repertoire, commissioning new works and arrangements, and have since performed widely, including concerts for Sydney Opera House, UKARIA, Canberra International Music Festival and Australian Digital Concert Hall.

Suite mágica Programs

Program – no interval

Máximo Diego Pujol (b. 1957) 3’
Suite Magica
II. Vals

Enrique Granados (1867–1916) 15’
Danzas Españolas
Oriental (arr. Blanch/Granger)
Villanesca (arr. Blanch/Granger)
Rondalla aragonesa – Jota (arr. Richard Charlton)

Sally Whitwell (b. 1974) 9’
Tiny Dances*
i. salvador’s clock shop
ii. at the bottom of the garden
iii. capybara boogie
iv. the game
v. the escape
iv. practice makes permanent

Tristan Coelho (b. 1983) 7’
New Work*

Marco Pereira (b. 1950) 11
Fantasia Concertante

45’

Program – with interval

Máximo Diego Pujol (b. 1957) 12’
Suite Magica
I. Preludio
II. Vals
III. Tango
IV. Candombe

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) 5’
Pavane pour une infante défunte (arr. Richard Charlton)

Enrique Granados (1867–1916) 15’
Danzas Españolas
Oriental (arr. Blanch/Granger)
Villanesca (arr. Blanch/Granger)
Rondalla aragonesa – Jota (arr. Richard Charlton)

 32’

- Interval -

Elena Kats-Chernin (b. 1957)
Fleeting Encounter 5’

Sally Whitwell (b. 1974)
Tiny Dances* 9’
i. salvador’s clock shop
ii. at the bottom of the garden
iii. capybara boogie
iv. the game
v. the escape
iv. practice makes permanent

Tristan Coelho (b. 1983)
New Work* 7’

Marco Pereira (b. 1950) 11’
Fantasia Concertante

32’

Images: Keith Saunders