Description
The Girl at the Airport is the culmination of a four year project during which Richard completed a trilogy of albums. The three albums not only explore the colourful music of the great Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangoré, but also include new works discovered by Richard in South America plus several of his own original compositions inspired by his travels.
The Girl at the Airport is an album with a story. Says Richard: ‘This is a Graham Greene tinged tale of an Englishman experiencing South American culture at first hand, unearthing musical treasures along the way. My own tracks Night Flight to Lima, Our Man in Asuncion and, of course, the title track The Girl at the Airport set the scene’. The title track was recorded in Prague with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Girl at the Airport
Jha Che Valie (Agustín Barrios Mangoré)
The Girl at The Airport Part 1- Cancion (Richard Durrant)
The Girl atThe Airport Part 2 – Danza (Richard Durrant)
Our Man in Asuncion (Richard Durrant)
Romanzo di un Sole (Juan Duarte del Paraguay)
Panambi Raity (Juan Duarte del Paraguay)
Recuerdos de Ypacarai (Demetrio Ortiz)
Soliloqui (Juan Duarte del Paraguay)
Vuelo de Luciémagas & Meloddia para Rosemary y Margaret (Kike Pederson)
La Isla de Paraguay (Richard Durrant)
Night Flight to Lima (Richard Durrant)
El Cóndor Pasa (Daniel Alomia Robles)
Total Running Time 38m17s
Listen on Spotify and Apple Music
Reviews
*****
“It’s normal to associate concept albums with prog-rock, less so with Spanish-styled acoustic guitar. But here guitar virtuoso Richard Durrant gives us just that – the final instalment in a trilogy rooted in his long abiding love of the music of Paraguay. And The Girl At The Airport is a truly stunning conclusion.
Durrant’s guitar playing skill is amply demonstrated across the album’s dozen tracks, as are equally deft touches with melody, harmony and arrangement. Whether the songs are presented with a full band, orchestral backing (courtesy of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra) or simply rely on the interplay between fingertips and nylon strings, the music is totally beguiling.
The title track forms a perfect orchestral mini-suite for guitar and orchestra. ‘Romanza Di Un Sole’ blends an exquisite melancholy with a hopeful Latin spirit while ‘Night Flight To Lima’ combines guitar with percussion and samples before adopting a classical/rock-fusion sound worthy of Sky at their very best. The album closes with a tender rendition of ‘El Condor Pasa’ – the folk tune so memorably covered by Simon & Garfunkel. That it banishes any mental image of Greenwich Village for the vistas of the Andes only speaks of Durrant’s mastery.”
Trevor Ragatt, R2 Magazine – June 2016
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