Frameworks Records and An Tran recently announced the release of the debut album from Vietnamese classical guitar virtuoso, An Tran.
Stay, My Beloved is an album featuring all Vietnamese guitar music.
An Tran’s debut album, Stay, My Beloved, is a beautiful, emotional work.
Tran’s technical mastery of the guitar is excellent, and his restrained touch is on display throughout the album. The compositions, though, take center stage in this release. All the pieces on the album either originate from or are inspired by his home country of Vietnam.
His ability to evoke such a specific geographical place with the combination of expert technique and choice of composition is truly uncanny. I’m struck by a few qualities of the album:
- Thanks to Tran’s confident playing, the “spaces” in the music move as much as the complex sections. There’s no rushing or anxiety. Instead, the music embodies a certain serenity.
- The use of pentatonic harmony to craft a distinctly Vietnamese tonality inside the traditionally western scope of classical guitar is worth the price of admission alone.
- The emotional connection between An Tran and his country provides a deep authenticity and intimacy to the album.
Where To Listen
You can also listen on An Tran’s website: https://www.antran.org/music
You can also follow An Tran on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
More About the Album
Stay, My Beloved, engages and elevates the auditory experience through its arrangements of traditional folk songs to its modern compositions. An Tran‘s virtuosic technical ability can be heard throughout the recording alongside his beautiful and melodic phrasing. One can imagine the landscapes of Vietnam through the musical paintings in this album, as in Central Highlands of Vietnam. Listeners can also hear An’s personal stories from the composition his parents used to sing to him (Stay, My Beloved and Drifting Duckweeds, Floating Clouds). This album also features the world premiere recording of Ru Con, a lullaby written by The-An Nguyen and dedicated to An Tran for his Toronto Debut at the Guitar Society of Toronto in 2019.
About An Tran
Praised for his “gorgeous playing” with “flawless technique” by the KnoxTNToday and
considered as a “Vietnamese guitar virtuoso” by Austin Classical Guitar, guitarist An Tran has captivated audiences throughout North America and Asia. Deeply connected to his native country of Vietnam, An is bringing the traditional music of Vietnam to international concert stages. Most recent seasons brought An to different parts of the world, including recitals for Bangkok Guitar Society, Austin Classical Guitar, Toronto International Guitar Series and many more. Current 2019-20 season highlights include An’s Midwest tour with concerts in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, as well as solo concert at the IX Latin-American Guitar Festival and the prestigious Segovia Classical Guitar Series in Chicago, USA in May 2020. An has won over 13 international guitar competitions and music awards and has been invited to various guitar festivals to teach, perform
and judge. An Tran received degrees from Vietnam National Academy of Music, North Park University, Yale University and is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University.
Stay, My Beloved Track Listing
- The An, Nguyen (b. 1970):
The Legend of the Bamboo Child (Thánh Gióng) [14:02]
I. Introduction
II. Childhood (Andante)
III. The Threat of War (Allegro)
IV. The Rise of the Hero (Larghetto)
V. War and Victory (Presto)
VI. The Ascension of the Hero (Largo) - The An, Nguyen (b. 1970):
Lullaby (Ru Con) [5:14]
*written for An Tran *world premiere recording - Traditional Folk Song (arr. Ngoc Long, Dang):
Drifting Duckweeds, Floating Clouds (Bèo Dạt Mây Trôi) [4:42] - Ngoc Long, Dang (b. 1957):
Rain (Mưa) [6:07] - Ngoc Long, Dang (b. 1957):
Central Highlands of Vietnam (Núi Rừng Tây Nguyên) [7:00] - Ngoc Long, Dang (b. 1957):
Remembrance (Hồi Tưởng) [4:54] - Traditional Folk Song (arr. The An, Nguyen)
Stay, My Beloved (Người Ơi, Người Ở Đừng Về) [7:42]
Total Time [49:39]
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