BrittenвЂ™s Nocturnal after John Dowland was fascinating both to watch and to listen to. Moving on to music by another French impressionist, Poulenc's Sarabande, the only piece he wrote for solo guitar, was hauntingly contemplative.Д®nding on a similar theme to its beginning, Shibe chose a work not by but inspired by John Dowland. Some of that spikiness is still felt in FallaвЂ™s Homenaje pour Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy, though the serenity of DebussyвЂ™s music shone through. Shibe performed britten's 'Nocturnal' with a real sense of insight and integritySkipping forward a few centuries, the 'Habanera' from Thomas AdesвЂ™s 2016 opera The Exterminating Angel вЂ“В which the composer has reworked into a solo concert piece вЂ“ is a dark, richly textured work, with stark jumps between contrasting musical ideas. Performing on acoustic guitar - the only instrument used throughout - Shibe gave the Prelude and Fugue a smooth, stately feel while the Allegro was nimbler and lighter. Though these pieces are commonly considered to be for lute, presenter Michael White tells us that though they may have been written for that instrument, itвЂ™s possible in BachвЂ™s time they were also performed on a harpsichord or even a Lautenwerk вЂ“ a sort of lute-harpsichord hybrid with gut strings, made in Europe during the Baroque period. Moving to BachвЂ™s Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro in E flat major, Shibe played with a serene poise despite the highly intricate and complex work going on in the fingers, made possible to fully witness by the close camera angle. 'Fantasia' began with a simply played melody which soon transformed into florid and evocative music, with each voice clearly illuminated. 'Preludium' was delightfully intimate, Shibe expertly teasing out the subtleties of its emotion, while the descending chromaticism of 'Forlorn Hope Fancy' was played with an almost jazzy sense here Shibe toyed with the rhythm as he exposed the musicвЂ™s crunchy discords.

Poulenc sarabande guitar