Guitarist at Music Society concert

Gordon Ferries is deservedly well-known as a player of early, almost historic guitars. On Saturday May 16th he gave a concert in Brodick Hall that was very unusual. The guitars he played were narrow-bodied, with a sweet, quiet tone that did not carry very far, so by the interval, listeners were shuffling forward like curious meercats.

The first half of the recital was based on early music of the 17th and 18th centuries, while after the interval Gordon played compositions by Johann Kasper Mertz, who lived in the early 19th century. Listeners agreed that it was fascinating to hear the guitar played in its historic early form, very different from the full-toned, broad-bodied instrument of our own time.