Deleted Pieces
2005
Deleted Pieces is The Dublin Guitar Quartet's debut album. The centre-piece of the record is White Man Sleeps by Kevin Volans. This was originally composed for harpsichord and viola and was transcribed for string quartet in 1985 by the composer on request by the Kronos Quartet. The Dublin Guitar Quartet transcription adapts the string quartet version but the guitars evoke the plucked harpsichord timbre of the original work. The DGQ were fortunate to rehearse with Volans and receive his guidance during the recording process. The album also includes music by Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, Brian Bolger and Irish instrumental rock-group The Redneck Manifesto
Cuban Landscape with Rain - Leo Brouwer
1. Section 1
2 .Section 2
. Weak - Brian Bolger
White Man Sleeps - Kevin Volans
First Dance
Second Dance
Third Dance
Fourth Dance
Fifth Dance
Soundscapes Over Landscapes - The Redneck Manifesto
"The Dublin Guitar Quartet's repertoire, like most guitar quartets, is full of arrangements. But this group seems to be interested only in contemporary music, and that's what dominates on their debut CD, specifically Kevin Volan's White Man Sleeps and part of Henryk Goreck's Quasi Una Fantasia, plus a version of Redneck Manifesto's Soundscapes over Landscapes. The group which uses a range of non-standard guitars (with up to 11 strings), seems to be aiming for a mixture of street band funk and classical sophistication. They favour tight rhythmic delivery as a solid background to a style that delights in colouristic and pitch shifting effects. This impressive if rather short (42 minutes) disc also includes two original pieces, Leo Brouwer's delicate Cuban Landscape with Rumba and group member Brian Bolger's in-your-face Weak."
Irish Times - March 10, 2006.
"This album has been the soundtrack to the last two weeks of my life. It's beautiful. It's arrangements for four guitars of contemporary compositions by the likes of Gorecki and Leo Brouwer. There's a five movement piece on here called 'White Man Sleeps' by a guy called Kevin Volans, who is apparently from Dublin, and it's only gone and rocked my world. Oh, and it closes with an arrangement of a song off The Redneck Manifesto's first album that is probably the highpoint of this collection. Not for everyone mind - but then again very little that is worth your attention ever is, is it?"
Mongrel Magazine - March, 2006.