Manus Noble has performed on the big stage on multiple occasions and has won a host of very prestigious awards including "Guitarist of the Year". He performed his first big concert at the young age of 19 and has since become one of the most admired and established guitarists of his generation.
Jehanne Bastoni is also a very talented and established musician who has displayed an exceptional level of ability in the cello and has a Bachelor of Music award.
I was fortunate enough to have a private class with Manus Noble shortly before their performance in the Beardwood hall. We worked on a piece called "El Nuevo Dia" by Paco Pena which is a fairly typical flamenco piece that requires a good level of technical ability. Manus emphasized the importance of making sure that the piece flowed well and recommended that I held my notes down for longer in between changing chords. Once applied, this certainly helped to create a much for fluid feel to the music. He also expressed how important it was to value your plucking hand as much as your fret hand. It is easy to constantly be thinking about where your fingers should be on the fretboard and completely forget about your technique when plucking or strumming.
He recommended that I should be more mindful of using all my fingers on my right hand (strumming hand) and that I should get used to using my index finger more as when developed, the index finger is the most effective in making a bold and strong sound. It was an amazing experience to listen to someone who had so much professional experience and also admire his calm and humble nature as a very easy person to talk to.
The performance in the Beardwood Hall was equally impressive. The duo of Manus and Jehanne emulated a wonderful sound as the mixture of the guitar and cello worked brilliantly together. They played a number of pieces from all over the globe ranging from the renaissance era to the modern day. What was particularly impressive was the effort they put in to transcribe the pieces so that they could be played as duets by a cello and guitar. The guitar would normally play the bass line whilst the cello would normally play the main melody.
Manus Noble remained on stage to perform a selection of solos from all over the world including Japan, the Wild West of America and East Europe. His guitar gave off a beautiful sound that spread through to the back of the hall. His most impressive piece was originally written by Gary Ryan who was Manus's teacher. The piece is called Benga Beats and has a particularly groovy bass line along with a whole host of interesting techniques that I hadn't seen before. The piece included a quiet and calm melody that frequently returned to the bass line. He then proceeded to tap his guitar to the beat, strum the top of the guitar by the head at the nut and even sang. It was quite inspiring to watch as a guitarist and for anybody interested in music.
Overall, the experience of meeting Manus Noble and hearing him perform alongside Jehanne Bastoni was one that I will not forget. I will make sure to employ his advice when playing the guitar in the future and will pass it on to any other young guitarists.
A report by guitarist and Colfe’s scholar Conor McLean Wait (Year 11)