‘Secret Love’ CD Review
Review of ‘Secret Love’ CD by Jacopo Lazzaretti, guitar
Jacopo Lazzaretti is a guitarist, teacher, and performance coach originally from Rome and now based in Glasgow. This is his first full-length solo CD, also available as a download. I reviewed the CD, which, pleasingly, is designed to look like a miniature record.
When he was young Jacopo was keen to learn the electric guitar. Somehow he ended up playing the classical guitar, with impressive results. This album is an expression of his artistic personality, synthesising his younger self’s dream and his personal journey, inviting listeners into a rich, immersive, and intimate world of sound and self-expression.
The soundscape of the album consists of three different sets, each one a beautiful miniature in itself. Firstly Celtic Connections, with two Irish pieces (Spatter the Dew and Wild Mountain Thyme) shows the liveliness and tenderness of Celtic culture; Scottish Homage (Northern Lights and The Isle of Skye); and Two Scottish Pieces (The Parting Glass; The Sleeping Tune) celebrate Lazzaretti’s deep connection with Scotland. The next section is Dreams & Other Things: with three fascinating contemporary pieces unknown to me it explores the introspective, dreamlike, and cathartic powers of music (Ophelia ... a haunted sonata by Phillip Houghton; Songe Capricorne by Roland Dyens; Koyunbaba by Carlo Domeniconi). The final section consists of three well-known songs arranged by Toru Takemitsu (Michelle; Over the Rainbow; Secret Love).
Jacopo Lazzaretti plays the electric guitar as he would a classical guitar. It is fascinating to hear an instrument often used in a much more straightforward way played with all the delicacy and finesse of the classical guitar.
A word about the instrument used on this recording, the Córdoba Stage electric guitar. Electric guitars usually have steel strings and a narrower neck to afford easier playability for the rock, jazz, and pop music they are mostly used for. Classical guitars use soft nylon strings which give a warm, mellow tone, and have wider necks suitable for intricate finger style. They tend to be used more for classical and folk music. The Córdoba Stage guitar is an electric guitar with nylon strings and a neck wider than traditional electric guitars, making it easier to play classical and folk music. Here it gives the music a plangent, plaintive quality.
As the music unfolded, I felt I was experiencing a concert created just for me. As I listened again and again to the music, I was entranced by the skilful mixture of traditional, contemporary, and popular works played with emotion, confidence, and technical mastery. I have not yet heard Jacobo Lazzaretti live, but I look forward to the experience. His secret love of the electric guitar’s no secret anymore, and a very good thing too.
Available from Bandcamp: https://jacopolazzaretti.bandcamp.com/
https://jacopolazzaretti.com/
