Glen Urquhart Public Hall, Drumnadrochit, 23 July 2003

This was the third concert in American guitarist James Russell Hunley’s tour of the Highlands and Islands, and followed on from appearances in Bute (although his advance publicity seemed to confuse the island with Butte, Montana) and Orkney.

Those who find the formality of classical recitals daunting would have been at home here. Hunley greeted the audience as they arrived, and sat chatting informally until the concert was due to begin, including some anecdotes on American history, politics (moral – don’t go there) and attitudes.

That informality extended to his introductions (there was no printed programme), which were sometimes tossed off rather too casually to catch. There was nothing informal about his playing, however, and if not always finger perfect on this occasion, he was clearly a sound technician as well as a conscientious interpreter of the music.

His attention to phrasing and nuances of touch and dynamics were evident in all of the music he played, which was drawn largely from the Spanish tradition, with a side-step to embrace the Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos.

He played a sequence of short pieces by Tarrega, Barrios, Lauro and others in the first half, as well as Villa Lobos’s more substantial ‘Prelude No 1’, and performed four more substantial works after the break, including further pieces by Barrios and Tarrega, Granados’s ‘Spanish Dance No 5’ and Albeniz’s famous ‘Granada’. For his encore, he turned to – no, I won’t spoil the surprise. Let’s just say that he switched his focus from Spain to, ummm, Nashville.

James Hunley also plays at:
Corran Halls, Oban, Friday 25 July 2003
An Lanntair, Stornoway, Sunday 27 July
Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, Monday 28 July
Community Centre, Mallaig, Wednesday 30 July
Town House, Inverness, Thursday 31 July
Glenuig Hall, Saturday 2 August

© Kenny Mathieson, 2003