Karin Schaupp - Mosaic - Australian Guitar Concertos [24bit FLAC]

Mosaic: Australian Guitar Concertos
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Richard Mills
Karin Schaupp (guitar)

ABC Classics: ABC4810961

Bracanin: Guitar Concerto
Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Spigelman
Charlton: Mosaic
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey
Edwards, Ross: Arafura Dances
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Richard Mills
Sculthorpe: Nourlangie
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Richard Mills
Karin Schaupp (guitar)

The four works on this CD span a period of composition of just 6 years (1989 – 1995) and for Ross Edwards, Philip Bračanin and Peter Sculthorpe, represents their major work for the instrument. Sculthorpe’s Nourlangie (previously released on ABC4767627) has gone on to become on of his most performed works and brings vividly to life the expansiveness of the Australian continent. The Bračanin concerto was commissioned by Karin, while still a teenager, and has subsequently become one of the frequently played guitar concertos on Australian radio. Ross Edwards concerto draws on the rich flora and fauna of Arnhem Land and the magnificent Arafura Sea beyond. In this premiere recording by Karin Schaupp (first released in 2005 on ABC4762270) Karin revels in the ‘Edwards’ sound world’. The most recent work on this recording is from Richard Charlton, himself a guitarist, who wrote Mosaic for Adrian Walter for the final concert of the 1995 Darwin International Guitar Festival. Mosaic, is a musical expression of Charlton’s memories and impressions of the Northern Territory, from the brilliant colours of earth and sky to the exhilarating power of a tropical storm.

Karin Schaupp's mosaic of Australian guitar concertos
by Ben Nielsen on May 17, 2014
The Australian guitarist takes time out to discuss cross-platform collaboration, new art and her latest CD release.
Until the recent release of Karin Schaupp’s Mosaic, there were no albums of Australian guitar concertos. Schaupp’s latest CD features work by some of the nation’s most acclaimed composers and creates a uniquely Australian musical landscape. Indeed, with its patriotic contribution to the guitar catalogue, the release of Mosaic marks an important occasion for the international music community.

As recipient of the Australia Council for the Arts Music Fellowship, Schaupp has had the opportunity to commit to a variety of projects to which she might not otherwise have been able to allocate time, energy or funds. As part of this, she collated Mosaic, an album that spans at least twenty years of her recorded output.

“I’m very excited that the ABC have put these concertos together, and that this disc has finally come to fruition,” Schaupp told Limelight. “There are amazing players, there are wonderful composers, and it’s all very accessible, beautiful music. I think it’s all easy to listen to and just gorgeous – these are all masterpieces.”

The album features the works of Ross Edwards, Philip Bračanin and Peter Sculthorpe. The titular piece, as written by Richard Carlton, opens the CD with the roll of a drum and the tinkle of a glockenspiel. Like entries in a diary, the Mosaic concerto documents Carlton’s first visit to the Northern Territory in the early 1990s. As the ink from his pen fills the manuscript, Carlton writes of the colours of the earth, the sky and the sunsets over the sea. Just like the other three concertos; Schaupp is accompanied by the lush wall of sound of both the Tasmanian and Queensland Symphony Orchestras.

“These are by no means all of the Australian guitar concertos, but obviously as many of them as we can fit on a CD. Charlton’s concerto is just a stunning piece, and has never been released before. The Edwards is a premiere and so is the Bračanin. It’s just wonderful to have them all on a disc together and I’m also excited as I think it’s going for international release.”

Aside from her new album, Schaupp is busy at work on a number of different collaborative projects. With the working title Radiant Place, the first of Schaupp’s projects will explore the meaning of ‘place’ and the way that indigenous and contemporary Western cultures coincide. The project will be presented with the assistance of the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts and in collaboration with percussionist Claire Edwardes and an indigenous dance troupe.

Also in the pipeline is a cross-platform venture with contemporary Australian ensemble Topology and Brisbane based journalist-cum-documentary-maker Trent Dalton. “It’s called Love Stories,” Schaupp said. “We’re basically combining filmed interviews of extraordinary people telling personal love stories. Not just romantic love, but all kinds; family, friendship, not necessarily all warm and gooey. Then we’re weaving original new music written by Topology around those stories, with performers on stage and with the interviews projected onto the screen.”

While Schaupp is keeping the details of most of her upcoming projects under wraps, she also mentions a work that remains in the early stages of development, as well as separate collaborations with singer-songwriter Katie Noonan and recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey. It has certainly been a busy few months, for which the guitarist is grateful of the assistance of the Australia Council. But with drastic funding cuts announced as part of the 2014 budget, Schaupp voices her concern for the future of new art.

“I think to be able to dream big and to be able to make real changes and real innovation takes time and it takes support, and the arts depend very much on support particularly in creative development,” Schaupp said. “I think any kind of cuts to arts funding are always a shame and historically whenever there are any financial problems in a country, you always hear of the arts being cut. But you often also hear about people needing culture more when times are hard, and that’s the irony of the situation.”

But for now, Karin Schaupp can sit back and enjoy the likely success of her Mosaic and the process of creating new work. “Look, it’s been immensely inspiring. It’s really, really exciting. I think Australia’s a good place to be as a guitarist.”