CD Reviews

A lovely journey through the Western European music over the last four centuries with a classic guitar. Chris Carelli, with his debut recording, attempts to introduce us to the six dominant compositional trends; Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic and 20th Century. Those who are quite familiar to more classical music forms are likely to have come across these terms. However, if you find yourself among the people that have never even heard these terms before, I can reassure you that Chris Carelli has compiled the most relaxing and delightful music in his ‘Anthology’, far away from any stereotypical view on classical music.

Chris Carelli began his studies on classic guitar in 1993 and a BA and a Masters degree on Music enriched his musical talent. In 2006 Carelli represents in this beautiful recording a collection of the most pleasant melodies that have influenced him so far. This album is one of the rare occasions where lyrics are rather useless and the music is so powerful that it speaks for itself.

Maria Tsinginari
Glasswerk.Co.UK, April 24th 2006

Chris Carelli’s “Anthology” CD exemplifies the musical talent of this fine young guitarist.  He embraces the essence of these classic pieces and uses his instrument to create excitement with this music.  Chris is accomplished and possesses insight into his creations.

 Dick Palombi

Conductor/Arranger, May 1st 2006

In his debut CD "Anthology" Chris Carelli has set out to explore the music that first inspired him to pursue the classical guitar, and the repertoire that has touched his life since that time. The result is a recording that showcases some of the best known and most accessible music for the instrument. Beyond this, the disc also offers some common arrangements for the guitar by Albeniz, Bach, and Debussy. It is surprising that on a lighter fare disc such as this, Carelli chose to also include the Five Bagatelles by William Walton, which are not only demanding for the guitarist but equally so for some listeners. I have a personal fondness for these pieces, and was pleased to find that Carelli navigated them with ease. Similarly, Carelli offers solid renditions of the other works on the CD which include "Romanza" (anon), "Cavatina" (Myers), and "Suite Espanola" (Sanz). If you or someone you know would like to be introduced to the world of classical guitar, you can do no better than this disc. It is my hope that Carelli will inspire others to the instrument, just as he was so inspired a little over a decade ago.

Timothy Smith, Minor 7th, www.minor7th.com, June 20, 2006

Subtitled 'music of the last four centuries for solo guitar', classical guitarist Chris Carelli takes on the six major categories of Western European music.

Working backwards he begins with William Walton and Stanley Myers ('Cavatina', natch) before hitting an early (or later) peak with Debussys double of 'The Girl With The Flaxen Hair' and 'Claire de Lune'. Then its on into my favoured Romantic period (hard to believe, I know) for a couple of gems from the pen of Isaac Albeniz.

Chris heads all the way back to the Renaissance, holding your hand with a well annotated booklet, cherry picking some fabulous music and emblazoning it with his prodigious talent. If only all history records were as vital and interesting.

Stuart A. Hamilton, Zeitgeist www.zeitgeist-scot.co.uk, November 9th, 2006