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"Apocrypha are writings or statements of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word apocryphal (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were to be read privately rather than in the public context of church services—edifying Christian works which were not considered canonical Scripture.
In the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the word apocrypha came to mean "false, spurious, bad, or heretical"." - Wikipedia
About ApocryphA
‘Apocryphal’ texts can be defined in a few ways, but usually reference something outside the traditional canon or considered, at least by some, to be heretical. Since, in my opinion, heresy is often simply a synonym for questions that need to be asked or statements that need to be made, I thought ‘Apocrypha’ would be a fitting choice for this collection of pieces I chose to record. Each piece falls, in its own way, outside the usual or typical canon of ‘classical guitar music’ (however you define that), and is an exploration of a side perhaps missing from the usual picture people have of this ‘genre’.
Some of the works are new pieces that expand the repertoire or canon in new directions, some are new works which take inspiration from the language of past composers who never wrote for guitar, while others are works that are simply underplayed or underappreciated. I hope you enjoy listening to my 'Apocrypha'.
ApocryphA recorded, edited, and produced by Michael Ibsen
Recorded on a 2015 Ross Chiasson cedar top guitar
additional editing, mixing, and mastering done by
Nathan Bredeson and Alex Bougie
album art by LAZ - https://www.instagram.com/lazbones/?hl=en
music composed by Nathan Bredeson, Bryan Johanson, Tilman Hoppstock, Emilia Giuliani, Tova Kardonne, and Jason Noble
A huge thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for their financial support of this project!