Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Mosaic String Duo at the South Coastal Library

Both of the musicians are teachers. Douglas Seth founded the Guitar Academy of Southern Delaware after years of teaching in Florida and Chris Braddock has taught for many years at the Music School of Delaware and is currently guitar department head. Their concerts are lessons in stringed instruments: an octave mandolin, an oud (the Middle Eastern ancestor of the lute), a Dobro or resonator guitar, a twelve-string and classical guitar for Braddock and a classical, flamenco and electric guitar for Seth.

The concert consisted of pieces written by Braddock and Seth and they treated the crowd to brief explanations of titles, introductions to the various instruments and spoke of the composing process. Seth’s strong classical style and training (listen to his rendition of the prelude to the Bach Cello suite on his web site) is a great backdrop for Braddock’s more eclectic musical style. Together the two of them are quite creative.

Their tongue-in-cheek musical jibes as in the piece Ottmar Who?, a gentle mockery of Ottmar Lieber’s constant use of flamenco themes, was a lot of fun – with Braddock playing a melody reminiscent of a James Bond walk-on theme and Seth playing a constant flamenco ostinato in accompaniment. Seth’s virtuosic guitar solo for RW’s Backwoods Adventure took him to a very complex picking pattern of a wild country music hoe-down with Braddock accompanying him on the resonator guitar.

It was a fun evening and a delight to see such a large and enthusiastic crowd on a stormy rainy night at Bethany Beach.

See www.guitaracademyofsouthernde.com

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