“Justin Holland was and remains an intriguing figure, largely unknown until guitarist Christopher Mallett came along; six of the pieces here are receiving their world premieres. Holland, born free in 1819, made his way to Boston and took lessons there from several guitar teachers, one of them Spanish. He may have been the first African American to play the classical guitar.”
One of the fascinating misconceptions about classical music is that it’s all known, we’ve heard it all before. But the reality is that what most of us know of classical is actually a microcosm of all the music written and performed during older times. One of today’s artists and educators working to expand the conversation is classical guitarist Christopher Mallett (Co-Director of the California Conservatory of Music and Lecturer of Guitar, UCSC), who this year released Justin Holland: Guitar Works and Arrangements. Recorded at a recital hall at UC Santa Cruz, the album features Mallett’s solo guitar winding through originals by Holland (possibly the first Black classical guitarist in America) and arrangements across a wide variety of styles, including folk, sacred, and dance. It’s mostly easygoing music, and gives a nice taste of what one might have heard in mid-1800s America. Out now on Naxos.
