International Classic guitarist and Esperance resident Ingrid Riollot. Photo: Damon Smallman.
International Classic guitarist and Esperance resident Ingrid Riollot has just released a new album Travel Notes.
Weekender caught up with her as she arrived home last Friday after a Perth recital, before flying out on Monday for a two-month international tour.
“It’s a deeply personal project that beautifully bridges where I come from and where I live now,” she said.
“One especially meaningful piece is Esperance, composed by Richard Charlton.”
For this fourth solo album, Riollot said she wanted to shine a light on a new repertoire from the 20th and 21st Centuries, far away from the established masterpieces of the Classical guitar.
“A repertoire that is more original, diverse and eclectic showcasing the guitar’s wide range of techniques, colours and expressive possibilities,” she said.
“I wanted to show how melodies can travel, evolve and adapt to different musical landscapes.”
Riollot said she would tour across Europe until mid-August, both as a solo artist and with her Australian guitar ensemble, the Silver Sands Guitar Quartet.
“This tour is particularly special, as I’ll be premiering several new works written specifically for me or the quartet, by composers Marian Budos, Richard Charlton, Joey Eng, and Jean-Jacques Fimbel,” she said.
On her return to Esperance she intends to perform a selection of works from the new album at Lucky Bay Brewery in a mid-September concert.
Riollot plays a Smallman and Sons guitar, made near Esperance at her husband Damon Smallman’s family workshop.
Guitar maker Greg Smallman has been making the instruments for five decades, and has taught the craft to his sons Damon and Kym who continue the work.
