French Impressions

“While working on this project, I’ve had a particularly clear mental picture of Debussy and Ravel close at hand. It’s an odd fact that while knowing full well how autonomous a work of art becomes once it leaves its creator, we nevertheless still tend to feel a strong sense of responsibility towards the person who gave it life in the first place” – Paul Galbraith

French Impressions, the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated follow-up to In Every Lake The Moon Shines Full (DE 3236), serves as a tour through the beauty and artistry of these two masters of composition. Galbraith’s 8-string guitar interpretations of these Impressionist favorites make for an irresistible recording. Galbraith’s guitar, designed in collaboration with the late David Rubio, features two extra strings – one high, one low – in addition to the usual six. This unique sound has opened new and provocative repertoire and can be heard in the artist’s groundbreaking transcriptions and recordings of music by Haydn, Bach, and now Debussy and Ravel.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Prelude “La fille aux cheveux de lin”(1909); Children’s Corner (Petite Suite) (1905-1908); Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum (2:52); Jimbo’s Lullaby; Serenade of the Doll; The Snow Is Dancing; Little Shepherd; Golliwogg’s Cakewalk; Page d’album (1915); Etude “Pour les notes repetees” (1915); Elégie (1915);

Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899); A la manière de Borodine (1913); Ma mére l’oye: Prelude; Suite (1908-1910); Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn (1909);