A highlight of the evening is an extended work by contemporary Italian composer Carlo Domeniconi, who spent time in Turkey and was influenced by the music he heard there. The work has a Turkish title: “Koyunbaba.” “This has become an immensely popular piece,” Lambson said. “There are several fine recordings of it, though I feel I have something unique to say with it. It has an unusual tuning, and culminates in a fast movement that’s similar to a dervish or a tarantella. I find it to be among the most exciting moments in the 20th century guitar repertoire.”
“Koyunbaba” is one of the pieces Lambson will play that are to be featured on his first CD recording, due out later this year. These include “Fantasie Elegiaque” by Spanish composer Fernando Sor. “I’ve had this under my fingers for well over a year now, which is unusual for me” Lambson said. “But it grows in new and unexpected ways the more I play it. I think it is as close as a guitarist gets to performing Beethoven—the style is that similar.”
Lambson, HSU professor and head of the Music Department guitar program, will also perform three related pieces by German Romantic composer Johann Kaspar Mertz, and preludes by Mexican composer Manuel Maria Ponce. “All three of the Mertz pieces fully exploit the resources of the guitar,” Lambson noted. “I find the Ponce preludes to be highly attractive and evocative.”
In addition to solo works, Lambson teams up with fellow HSU Music faculty member Laura Snodgrass on flute. “She is an extremely talented flutist—it’s a pleasure to work with someone of her caliber,” Lambson said. Among their duets is an arrangement of “Romanian Folk Dances” by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, a piece with “unexpected harmonies.”
In addition to teaching at HSU, Nicholas Lambson has toured California as a performer, and published scholarship on the guitar. He is also something of a Renaissance man, with academic accomplishments in English, physics and art.
Like Lambson, Laura Snodgrass earned her music master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has performed with the Eureka Symphony, as well as with guitarist Jacob Kramer as Duo Fuoco.
Nicholas Lambson, with guest flutist Laura Snodgrass, performs on Friday March 26 at 8 PM in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $8/$3 students and seniors from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. http://HSUMusic.blogspot.com