Stringhenge

An extremely talented classical guitarist, Richard Durrant wears his considerable talents lightly aross this 22-track double CD. Containing a charming mix of compositions by (and guitar adaptations of) JS Bach together with English folk tunes and even that old chestnut ‘The Skye Boat Song’, it is for the most part entirely Durrant alone, completely. Non-guitar-nerds should not be put off though; he has a wonderful sense of pace and timing. Even when executing the speedy, scuttling note-runs of ‘JS Bark (After Bach's Courante, BMW 1009)’ Durrant never sounds like he is showing-off – though there really should be a law against bad Bach puns.

He has a remarkable lightness of touch, casually executing all sorts of challenging guitar gymnastics in unflashy ways. His tone sounds folky and vernacular; he makes JSB's famous ‘Prelude in G’ sounds like the music from Bagpuss, without sacrificing any of the piece's melodic sophistication. A few tunes with accompaniment and some fully-arranged songs crop up near the album's end. They are quirky and interesting in a Robyn Hitchcock fashion, but don't entirely convince; it's like a psych-folk singer's EP has been bolted on. That aside, this is impressive, delightful stuff.