SOUVENIRS FOR MANDOLIN AND GUITAR – ALISON STEPHENS AND CRAIG OGDEN

In 1999 Chandos released an album featuring Music from the Novels of Louis de Bernières (CHAN 9780) to great acclaim, and it launched the ingenious partnership of the mandolin player Alison Stephens and guitarist Craig Ogden. They have been performing together nationally and internationally ever since and this new disc celebrates their decade-long musical partnership. They have said, ‘It should prove a very eclectic and interesting album that will appeal to a wide variety of plucked-instrument lovers as well as proving easy to listen to and offering an immediately appealing sound world for all music lovers. The pieces have certainly proved popular when they have been performed at concerts’. The album contains premier recordings of Burletta and Mitoka Dragomirna by Armin Kaufmann, Diferencias by Victor Kioulaphides, Mount Fuji by Alison Stephens and Suite Venezolana by José Antonio Zambrano. Alison will donate her royalties from the sale of this disc to Macmillan Cancer Support. The artists will perform at a number of concerts in the UK in September and October, with profits going to Macmillan Cancer Support. You may follow their fundraising efforts by visiting www.alisonstephens.com.

This album of rarely recorded repertoire follows the much admired previous release of 1999: the Music from the Novels of Louis de Bernieres (CHAN 9780).  This album was the start of a very successful musical duo that has been performing in concert and on tour across the UK and around the world for the last 10 years.  

Both the mandolin and guitar are intrinsically linked to indigenous music from across the world.  This CD is a celebration of a ten year musical partnership and of two incredibly hardy and adaptable instruments which have the unusual ability to bridge musical styles and cultures in a way that perhaps few other instruments can.  Through their joint venture, Craig and Alison have developed a repertoire of unusual music from Columbia, Mexico, Greece and many other countries to go alongside their more classical concert repertoire.

Craig and Ali remark; ‘It should prove a very eclectic and interesting album that would appeal to a wide variety of plucked instrument lovers as well as an easy to listen to and immediately lovable sound world for all music lovers.  The pieces have certainly proved popular when they have been performed at concerts. ‘

The album contains the premiere recordings Armin Kaufmann, Diferencias by Kiouphides, Mount Fiji by Stephens and Suite Venezolano by Zambrano

There is an added element to this album as Alison Stephens’ royalties are being donated to MacMillan Cancer Support.