For her debut release Tracy Anne Smith has assembled a uniquely beautiful set of compositions, which have served to set this particular disc apart from almost any other I have heard to date. At the core of this recording is the work to which the CD owes its name, "Lilac.Star.Bird," which was composed for Smith by composer Ying-Chen Kao in 2007. It is an evocative and surreal soundscape, drawing influence from a poem by famed American writer and poet, Walt Whitman. Each movement is meant to evoke a lilac, star, or bird, and they go beyond mere imitations of their titles, rather serving as prolonged meditations on each topic. It appears that this concept is what influenced Smith to select the other works for the disc. Almost all of them feature serene meditative elements that perfectly compliment Kao's work, most notably the works by Kleynjans, Bogdanovic, Hétu, and Rodrigo, which all feature soothing, dreamlike passages. Several of these works are also at times bold and technically challenging, offering Smith an opportunity to display her incredible versatility as a guitarist. Throughout these passages, the rich and oftentimes thundering tones Smith can produce are truly breathtaking. Perhaps nowhere on the disc is this more apparent than during the second movement of Rodrigo's "Invocatión y Danza" when Smith reaches a dramatic climax rarely attained by other guitarists. This introduction to Tracy Anne Smith is an absolute success, thanks in large part to her thoughtful selection of works and her masterful playing.
© Timothy Smith

TRACKLIST:

Francis Kleynjans

1. «ARABESQUE, en forme de Caprice» sur le tombeau de Tárrega, Op. 99

Agustín Pío Barrios

2. Vals, Op.8, No. 4

Dušan Bogdanović

3. Mysterious Habitats

Ying-Chen Kao

Lilac.Star.Bird

4. I. Lilac (sweet lilac air)

5. II. Star (transparent star, wandering light)

6. III. Bird (the woodpecker)

Joaquín Rodrigo

7. Invocación y danza

Jacques Hétu

Suite pour Guitare Op.41

8. I. Prélude

9. II. Nocturne

10. III. Ballade

11. IV. Rêverie

12. Final

Django Reinhardt (arr. Roland Dyens)

13. Nuages

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released September 1, 2008
Recorded & mastered at St. John Crysostom Parish, Newmarket ON Canada

Producers: Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver