Invisible Guests

Description

Invisible Guests is a hauntingly beautiful collection of arrangements and original compositions by guitarist Chris Stell, based on the music, landscape, poetry, and mythology of Armenia. Stell has a longstanding personal connection with Armenia, and the Eden Stell Guitar Duo perform and teach there regularly through their directorship of the Play2 Festival, which began in Yerevan and has now expanded to include small towns and villages throughout the country. Stell's arrangements include well-known piano pieces by Sarajyan and Babajanyan, drawing on folk melodies collected at the turn of the 20th century by Komitas, a priest and composer who is sometimes called the Armenian Bartok. Stell's own compositions include a set of musical backdrops to the exquisite poetry of Yeghishe Charents (1897-1937), as well as a 5th-century song to Vahagn, the ancient Armenian god of fire Internationally renowned for their dynamism, innovation and breathtaking virtuosity the Eden Stell Guitar Duo have 'breathed new life into the world of the classical guitar' (Rotterdam Dagblad). The duo were the first guitarists since Julian Bream to be Editor's Choice in Gramophone magazine with their 'landmark recording' of works by Stephen Dodgson. They have recorded 8 CDs to date on BSG, Hannsler Classics, and Docker labels, and are dedicatees of new works by Internationally acclaimed composers Stephen Dodgson, Adam Gorb, Dusan Bogdanovic, Gary Ryan, and Johannes Moller. They are also artistic directors of the Winchester Guitar Festival and the hugely popular World Youth Guitar Festival, the only classical guitar festival in the world dedicated to young players with over 200 students attending from over 15 countries as far afield as the USA and Australia.