Classic Beatles - Robin Hill & Peter Wiltschinsky

The Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo have long been Beatles fans so it seemed natural that at some point they would record their own versions of these incredible songs on this Classic Beatles album.

Some of these pieces have been performed live, especially Eleanor Rigby which the duo frequently played as a much appreciated encore. When introducing it Robin often mentioned the following story:

A journalist once asked George Harrison what he thought of Andrés Segovia and his reply was, 'He's the Daddy of us all."

This got back to the Maestro, who said, "These pop stars might be nice boys but what they are doing is obscene and a disease...I do not like the way the girls go crazy.'

This always caused much mirth amongst the audience.

With these arrangements Hill/Wiltschinsky hope to redress the balance and show that the music of Lennon and McCartney is of such a high quality that it can stand many forms of interpretation.

The whole process was an intense one as they each took half of the 32 songs so that both did an equal amount of arranging. As in the relationship between Lennon and McCartney, the desire to create interesting and unique arrangements to these well known songs fuelled Robin and Peter to become more and more creative.

Sometimes the title alone suggested an arranging approach.
A good example of this is, 'I'll Be Back', which Robin punned as, 'I'll Be Bach', and arranged in a Baroque style.

Another, 'Hard Day's Night', which he thought of as, 'Hard Day's Knight', and arranged in an Elizabethan Lute style.

Who would have thought that, 'She Loves You', would work on two guitars successfully? This one was imagined as a real guitar duo and features many compositional devices such as canon, counterpoint etc.

The hope was always that people would pick up on the many more hidden references and inspiration throughout the album. Even the introductions to many of the pieces present a mystery as to which famous Beatles track will be heard.

You can find, Classic Beatles - Robin Hill & Peter Wiltschinsky here on iTunes or cdbaby and from many other digital outlets.

As always, many thanks to Jonathan Keenan for the cover photography.

Enjoy!

Dance of the Jaguar - Robin Hill 'Standing on Air'

'Dance of the Jaguar' is the 5th track on 'Standing on Air' and was initially inspired by many visits to Mexico and Costa Rica and by a beautiful wooden Jaguar head that Robin found in Mexico.

Here it is:



The piece itself contains an eclectic mix of ideas ranging from flamenco to Indian influences.
The dramatic opening certainly conveys a musical impression of high tension, I should add that Robin has always been fascinated by the Mel Gibson film, 'Apocalypto', and this whole piece seems to follow Jaguar Paw as he struggles with pursuit and then enjoys fleeting moments of respite.
The use of music within a filmic context can make or break a sequence, and sometimes a film itself can inspire new music.

Very soon tabla drums enter the piece to give a driving rhythm for the guitar riff to adhere too. This is then joined by the sitar.
Robin has had both the tabla and sitar for some time and had been waiting for the right opportunity to use them.
I feel they work very well in the context of this piece.

This piece is in ABA form, representing Yin and Yang. The second section being a release of the tension before an intermediary connecting section with improvised guitar solo. This leads into the final triumphant conclusion.

For those interested in the recording side of things, quite a few takes were required to get the bass unison with guitar in the rapid triplet section. But I feel the overall effect was worth the effort and it is used a couple of times.

The sitar has long been an instrument that we both love. We have spent many hours listening to Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar and of course followed George Harrison's love of the instrument.
Although I should say that initially I was reluctant to add sitar to the piece.
I am so pleased that I was overruled as the snatches of sitar add perfect spice with its distinctive sound.

As you can imagine we have both listened to this piece many times during the recording, editing, mixing and mastering process.
From the whole album this is the one piece that Robin has mentioned that he may develop the idea into a concerto movement...

But for now, you can find the CD 'Standing on Air' and the track, 'Dance of the Jaguar' in many places, these are just a few: Robin Hill site, iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby etc....

Birthday, Blogs, a Beatle and Ravi Shankar

Today is Robin's birthday and we are very lucky to have him at home to help him celebrate.
The day started with the normal rendition of 'Happy Birthday', sung by all the family, as an early morning wake up call, followed by a present opening ceremony, before pre school chaos ensued.
Once calm had returned to the house we decided to take some time out.
This is actually quite rare, so was a real treat for us both. That's the beauty of having a birthday in the house, everyone gets to enjoy it!

As it has been such a nice day here, we packed up a picnic, and took ourselves off for a drive in the countryside, and had a thoroughly good time.

But now it's back to work.
Robin is practicing his guitar.
I have been dealing with agents about the forthcoming trips.
Actually, I'm rather envious of some of the places Robin will be visiting over the next few weeks. Hopefully there will be plenty of photo opportunities coming up.

But sitar mania does continue here.
Have you ever heard 'Happy Birthday' on the sitar?
It sounds great, even though the birthday boy had to play it himself, whilst the rest of us finished breakfast. I suppose that's the downside of being the musician.
Not only is Robin still playing his sitar, but he is also listening to others play, and watching them on YouTube.
Here's a example, it's Ravi Shanker giving George Harrison a sitar lesson...!

Take a Break - Play the Sitar

Today the house has been filled with the sound of the sitar.
As Robin enjoys his first day at home, he allowed himself to relax for a while, by playing his sitar.
It's a beautiful instrument in every way, with an exotic sound and intricate decoration.
Here's a photo I took a while ago:



As I worked this morning, he pulled up a chair, and proceeded to play, warming up with 'Norwegian Wood', and swiftly making up his own arrangements, particularly enjoying the sitar's ability to bend a note up a complete major third, and even beyond, which he did repeatedly.
I'm not to sure that he even noticed me leaving the house for a couple of hours, in search of a birthday present for him, (it's on Wednesday) as he was still sitting there playing on my return.

He did take a break at one point, made his way into the lounge, and watched a DVD of Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, just to keep the momentum flowing.
There is an upside to a day off from playing his guitar.
It allows his nails a rest.
When playing the sitar you wear a mizrab on your finger, which is a strange device, and one that I find rather uncomfortable.
I'm not alone in this, George Harrison once described wearing a mizrab as feeling like, "a weasel holding onto the end of your finger."

I knew Robin couldn't stay away from the guitar for an entire day though. He's currently back in the music room and working on his right and left hand exercises.

Deep Purple Haze Days

As we watched Paul McCartney the other evening, a memory was triggered for Robin, which I felt worthy of repeating.
It occurred as McCartney was playing 'I Saw Her Standing There', which he performed with his usual brilliance.
Robin said, "That's what I played with Deep Purple, at the audition."
I couldn't let that go and immediately went into 'blog' mode.

Robin was called down to Pinewood Studios for an audition for the place of lead guitarist, in a post Deep Purple band, put together by Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
The position had become vacant after the untimely death of Tommy Bolin, a fantastic guitarist who had played on one of our favourite recordings, 'Spectrum' by Billy Cobham.
So it was a pretty nerve wracking experience for Robin.

They started with, 'I Saw Her Standing There', and then went on to play, 'Palace of the King', by BB King.

The other band members then went off to deliberate, and returned promptly, to say Robin had got the gig.
Exciting times.

They went on to do a demo of 'Palace of the King', and you can hear it today.
The band members at this point were:
Ian Paice - Drums
Jon Lord - Keyboard
Maggie Bell - Vocals
Paul Martinez - Bass
Robin Hill - Electric Guitar

This track was actually recorded at George Harrison's house...
Unfortunately he wasn't in at the time, but they did meet on another occasion, however, that's another story...

For now you can hear 'Palace of the King' from the player in the side bar.

A Sitar is Born

And then there's the real sitar...



This is a fantastic and beautiful instrument which requires a lifetime of work. The whole technique is very different to the classical guitar but more similar to the electric guitar.
Traditionally the player sits on the floor, with legs crossed, but, as Robin finds it difficult to stay in this position for long, he has devised his own seating arrangement.
It seems to work for him and he is able to get some very nice sounds.
The strings are plucked with a 'mizrab' which fits over the finger, (George Harrison once said that it felt like a 'weasel holding onto the end of your finger'!)
I've tried one and it is a very good description....
However, this also gives Robin the opportunity to rest his nails, whilst still making music.
Consequently yet another project is underway using the sitar.



Robin's sitar has two 'toomba' which are made from gourds and act as a form of amplification.
It was certainly a rather unusual shaped parcel when it was delivered!