BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Remember Darryn Santana?
You know, the dude who Laura Biemmi interviewed for us in October – that guitarist who released a new album of Erik Satie arrangements for his instrument?
Yeah, that Darryn Santana. We’ll he’s back with another album already. And this time, the Perth performer has teamed up with one of his closest friends, Eliza Bourgault du Coudray. Together they are Pluck and Strum – a guitar and harp duo responsible for beauties like this:
Eliza started working with Darryn in 2015, and she is equally established in her own field.
Eliza is a harpist, teacher, and pianist who has some impressive achievements under her belt including the 2013 Delano Music Scholarship, 2014 Ewen Prize in Music, and 2015 Wesley Music Scholarship.
We chat with the two players all about their first album that combines their two instruments.
We also talk to them about friendship, and what it takes to make an album with someone you treasure. For that reason, Eliza and Darryn came together to answer these questions.
Guitar and harp seems a unique combination of instruments. Talk us through the approach to composition and texture between the strings.
All three composers treat the instruments equally: both instruments at any stage could be playing the melody, the bass line or accompaniment, or filling in the texture. These roles are often swapped, even within one same movement. The effect is that the harp and guitar end up sounding like one – not just because they have similar timbres, but also due to their equal treatment in the compositions. It’s as though the composers have approached composing for harp and guitar in the same way you would approach composing for solo piano.
You might ask: why have three very different composers approached these suites in the same way? Harp and guitar are the only contemporary instruments to produce their sound by direct contact with the fingers on the string, i.e. plucking; the only other exception being the double bass. Consequently, the envelope of the sound is very similar for both instruments, with a loud and sudden attack, and a short sustain. The composers seemed to understand this about the instruments and found a way to make them blend together very well.
So what are some of the works you’ve been putting together for this album?
The three works for harp and guitar are: Suite Magica by Maximo Diego Pujol, Suite Logique by Erik Marchélie, and Hypnotized by Gary Schocker. The other tracks on the album are a guitar solo by Pujol and some harp solos by Carlos Salzédo.
How did you choose the works? Why do they work well together?
After seeing on YouTube Jason Vieaux and Yolanda Kondonassis perform movements from Suite Magica and Hypnotized, we decided to find the music and look for other compositions for our duo, which is how we found Erik Marchélie.
The works share a number of similarities. As well as the texture and how the composers have blended the instruments together, the harmony is almost always tonal. The melodies are catchy, reminiscent of a hook in a pop song. The movements are only a few minutes long and phrases and themes are often repeated.
Despite these similarities, each work expresses a very different character, which is why they work well together on this album.
Talk us through the biggest challenges of producing this album – both in the selection of music and the physical production.
Everything was a bit of a challenge: finding an appropriate and affordable venue in which to record; fitting rehearsals and recording sessions into an already hectic schedule; organising all of the things related to releasing an album (editing, mastering, artwork, printing, online publication); and, of course, marketing! To make things more challenging, we were busy performing for Fringe World and working our day jobs around the same time as getting the album done.
As a duo, you’re also working together as friends. How would you describe the role of friendship in your music-making?
Music has always been an integral part of our friendship – it is one of our favourite ways to spend time together. Whilst we take the duo seriously and professionally, being friends means that the process of rehearsing and performing is always fun. Doing music as friends also creates a safe space for us to develop musically: we are open and respectful about each other’s ideas and skills and are not afraid to criticise each other’s playing.
Playing music together also feeds into our friendship, because playing with others teaches some important life and relationship skills such as patience and forgiveness, but even more so with someone who understands and respects you, and shares the same aspirations as you.
What are your plans for the future?
We want to learn other works composed for harp and guitar, and also arrange and maybe even compose original music for these instruments. Now that we have produced our very first CD, we know what’s required and can make the process of the next one smoother and better. We also love performing and already have some exciting concerts booked later in the year; that’s usually the time to experiment with different material to see what’s suitable for the next recording.
Pre-orders are now open for the Pluck and Strum album, which you can find on the website. The album is slated for a March 31 official release.
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