In his second project with PARMA Recordings, Swiss composer Georges Raillard gifts us with 12 solo classical guitar compositions on BUTTERFLIES IN THE LABYRINTH OF SILENCE, all performed by renowned guitarist David William Ross. The album follows the Sinking Islands suite, Raillard’s first project with PARMA Recordings, which appeared on BETWEEN THE ECHOES, a Navona Records compilation album featuring chamber works. On BUTTERFLIES IN THE LABYRINTH OF SILENCE, we hear the full spectrum of Raillard’s imagination. At times, the compositions feature gliding melodies that barely rise above a whisper, while other parts of the album are thunderous refrains that catapult from the speakers. Raillard utilizes various playing methods in his works, including fingerpicking, long ringing strums, single note melodies, and sustained pedal points. Raillard has a unique way of effectively matching the inflection of his compositions to the title of the songs. This is a testament to both Raillard as an imaginative composer and to the evocative playing of Ross. On He Burst Out Laughing, the track aptly begins with the guitar mimicking a person laughing, with rolling bursts of spontaneous energy. It is immediately followed by the denouement of the laughter, highlighted by post-crescendo serenity, only for the laughing guitar to roar once again. Night Waves is a tranquil piece punctuated first by sliding chords that call to mind ocean waves lapping on the beach in the still of the night. A series of single note melodies wind and cascade like the tide coming in and out. Measuring Clouds is an airy composition split into two movements. The title comes from the second movement, with its four-tone ostinato, shifting harmonies and counterpoints. The album comes to a close with Patio, which is interspersed with sharp slightly dissonant strums and rhythmic raps on the guitar’s body before descending into a series of peaceful and wandering chord patterns, ultimately circling back to how it began, ending on an ominous burst of tension. With its range of moods, colors, and techniques, BUTTERFLIES IN THE LABYRINTH OF SILENCE is an introspective collection of imaginative compositions executed to perfection.
