The euphoniously named
Czar's Guitars bring to the Profil Edition Günter Hänssler label an entire branch of the guitar repertoire that, unless you are Russian, you probably would not know of, with Music of Mikhail Glinka. Glinka is best known as a composer of opera and as the father of Russian nationalism, and while he wrote no original works for the guitar, his close friend Vladimir Morkov -- not a Count, as it says in the notes -- was the most influential Russian guitarist of the nineteenth century. He favored, as most Russians of that day, the unique seven-string instruments that originated in Russia toward the end of the eighteenth century. These passed out of use after
Andrés Segovia toured Russia in 1926 and the six-string, Spanish guitar became "king" there, too, but
Czar's Guitars revive a pair of the seven-string instruments to realize these mostly nineteenth century arrangements of Glinka's operatic music, much of it arranged by Morkov himself.
Czar's Guitars originated in America and consists of
Oleg Timofeyev, two of whose arrangements are heard and who plays solo on two tracks, and California-based guitarist
John Schneiderman. They take turns alternating between the standard Russian seven-string and its smaller cousin, the "quart guitar," and the blend of the two results in a unique sound -- sort of like a 12-string, but not as harmonically busy and sweetly melodious in its own way. If any of the pieces here sound familiar, it would be Kamarinskaya, best known in the colorful orchestral version by Rimsky-Korsakov. While that track is a highlight, there are no overall standout tracks as the general sound of these two instruments and players, just by themselves, is sufficiently interesting. Checking the track titles while listening, one might notice liking "Lyudmila's Cavatina" exceptionally well at one time and the Potpourri from Ruslan and Lyudmila at another without noting their shared melodic material.
The recording is a little quiet, but one does not really want it to be loud, as these instruments are not so.
Czar's Guitars' Music of Mikhail Glinka is simply excellent music for listening, particularly of the passive kind when one is trying to concentrate on other things, but guitar enthusiasts will no doubt feel compelled to listen much more closely.