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Unique and creative virtuosity from an innovative musician
Stephen Bennett's "Harp Guitar Artistry" is a 45-minute DVD produced by Mel Bay Publications. For more about Bennett, see [...] or [...] <
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>Songs on the DVD include: 1) Westphalia Waltz, 2) Perestroika, 3) Sea Rose Beach, 4) Run, Cathy Freeman Run/Advance, Australia Fair, 5) Late Last Night, 6) At This Moment, 7) Tom and Sally, 8) Cornwall, 9) Issoudun, 10) Oregon <
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>Guitarist Stephen Bennett is an excellent musician and something of a novelty due to his proficiency on the harp guitar, an instrument which has a fairly long history but which has been neglected in more recent times. With this video, he presents the unusual harp guitar as a genuine vehicle with great potential for musical expression. Born in Oregon and raised in New York, Bennett now calls Virginia home. In 1987, he won the National Flatpicking Championship in Winfield, Kansas, and he has performed around the world. This video, a good introduction to the artist and harp guitar, opens with the traditional "Westphalia Waltz." It is somewhat unfortunate that the studio's lighting created some slightly annoying glare and reflection atop his instrument. I also wish that Bennett would have provided a brief synopsis of the history of the harp guitar, which research indicates had its origin in Europe at the end of the 18th century. The hollow neck idea dates back to Europe in the mid-1800s, and Gibson introduced their 12- and 18-string versions in 1902. Of course, one can also appreciate that this DVD is more of a concert and emphasizes the presentation of harp guitar music, rather than a lot of talk. There are plenty of books and articles where one can delve into the history of the harp guitar. <
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>With various fingerpicking techniques, the guitar master then moves through nine original pieces, demonstrating various moods of the harp guitar from bluesy to bouncy, new age to grooving. One can only appreciate the beautiful resonance and sustain of his instruments. Bennett plays two 12-string harp guitars, a Dyer (built by the Larson Brothers of Chicago in 1909) and a Merrill (a replica of his great grandfather's instrument and built by the Merrill Guitar Co. of Williamsburg, Va.). Bennett's primary sub-bass string tuning is G-A-B-C-D-G (lowest to highest) as those were the notes he "wanted and what made the instrument come alive." These sub-bass strings are often returned slightly, depending on the piece played. <
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>To honor his family, Bennett offers his self-penned "Sea Rose Beach," a haunting and ethereal composition written for his great grandparents' home on the Oregon coast where they spent the last days of their lives, as well as "Oregon," a song born on the porch of that same family homestead. Another favorite is "Late Last Night," with its jazzy and reflective fragments of melody. Inspired by places he's been, Bennett also pays tribute to the town in the Hudson River Valley where he grew up ("Cornwall"), as well as a town in France where he played a festival in 1999 ("Issoudun"). This video presents unique and creative virtuosity, from an innovative musician who is leading a resurgence of interest in the harp guitar. (Joe Ross, staff writer for Bluegrass Now, Roseburg, OR) <
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