Michael Delalla Interview

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL DELALLA FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES

DM) How did you get your start in classical guitar?

MD) Actually, I had been largely a self-taught player for a few years. I didn't begin on classical guitar until I got to the conservatory at which I studied. At that time, if I wanted to study guitar in a conservatory atmosphere, my only option was classical guitar. This would have been the years 1977 to 1981, when I graduated. Now, I have students who go on to study many different styles of guitar. The study of the instrument has come a long way.

DM) Some people feel that the piano and other instruments have more depth than the guitar. There's more to study with piano and others, and they feel the guitar's an easier instrument. I actually play both, so I've been interested in other people's perspectives on this. What do you think?

MD) It would depend on how I defined "depth". One thing that I really found frustrating as a guitar student was the lack of really first-rate repertoire. Instruments like the piano and violin have so much more heritage, so much more history, and certainly a greater depth in their respective repertoires. The repertoires for those instruments went through their growing pains a long time ago; the guitar's repertoire hasn't finished doing that yet. Also maligning the guitar is the folk affiliation. It amazes me that because of an instrument's relationship with a culture's folk music; it can be considered in less serious terms by players of those instruments that are more affiliated with "art music". It's changing, though, from both directions: there is better music being written for the guitar now and greater acknowledgment of the importance of folk/traditional music in the development of repertoire. But let's say that we define "depth" in terms of an instrument's expressive capabilities. The guitar is capable of a much greater range of expression, timbre, and tone than most players are capable of realizing. I would certainly compare it favorably with the expressiveness of the above-mentioned instruments. And this is a good point to mention: my disagreement with the idea that the guitar is an easier instrument. Yes, it's easy to sound pretty mediocre, but it's probably one of the more technically difficult instruments on which to excel. Having said all that, I definitely recognize the guitar's limitations, particularly in its dynamic range. This is why I don't usually enjoy all-guitar recordings. I like the interaction of guitar with other instruments breaking up the sonic space a bit.

DM) Do you play other styles besides classical guitar?

MD) I guess I don't view classical guitar so much as a style than as a technical approach, especially these days when I don't have much time to play the classical guitar repertoire. I currently play three types of instruments: the classical, the steel string acoustic, and the 12-string. All get approached from the same basis of technique, which is rooted in classical technique. I view my style in general terms as a hybrid of three main elements: my classical training, which influences my technique, as well as my composition; jazz, which gives me many of the improvisational tools I use; and my undying love for many types of traditional music, particularly Celtic music.

DM) Where did you get the Celtic music background?

MD) I can't really be sure. Both of my parents are Italian immigrants, so it's not that I grew up listening to it. But early on, with the recordings of John Renbourn, Fairport Convention, Planxty, DeDanaan, I found that the Celtic struck a very profound nerve. I think it was how the melodies often suggested harmony, even in a single line. Much of the music was originally for fiddle or whistle, so harmony had to be implied by the contour of the melody. So it was music that I would play recreationally, amidst my studies, my gigs, other musical projects. About twenty years ago, I met up with a couple of people in college with similar interests. We would get together, play through the tunes, and then go do our other gigs. The fiddle player worked in a community orchestra; the whistle player was with one of the army bands, playing saxophone. We started getting gigs, then bigger gigs, and then about ten years ago, a TV interviewer asked us what we called ourselves. The next piece we were to play was "The Unfortunate Rake". It became our name on the spot--those two people, Bruce Wilkin and Chas. Fowler and I are The Unfortunate Rakes today.

DM) With an Italian surname, I was wondering if you've ever played Italian folk music?

MD) One of the deepest, darkest secrets of my musical development is that, at the age of eight, I studied accordion for a year or so, like all good Italian sons did. I'm talking about one of those big, overly ornate, 120-button jobs. But very little of the music was actually Italian folk music. Someday, I'd like to just see what's there, in the music of the Paysani, just to see if maybe there are some ties to what I do now that I'm not aware of. I've been to Southern Italy where my family is from, but I didn't gain a lot of musical insights. Maybe it's time to try again.

DM) I see that you play a number of instruments on the album. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the steel string versus the classical versus the 12- string?

MD) One disadvantage of the steel string is that, in my opinion, it doesn't have as wide a range of expression as the classical. But the classical doesn't deal well with altered tunings like the steel string does. The 12-string is merely difficult, one big disadvantage! I'm kidding, a little bit. There are some arpeggios that sound just stunning on a 12-string, due to the octave displacements that occur. And let's not forget the difficulties of keeping a 12-string in tune. When I think of my compositions, I can't think of one that sounds "right" on all three. Most don't even sound right on two of the three. When I start a composition, it's usually away from the guitar, so I don't fall into the usual idiomatic traps. After I get a bit into the piece, the process, I start to get a feel for which instrument will do it justice.

DM) Do you feel that we'll eventually have classical concerts w/guitars as often as with other instruments?

MD) I think that it's already happening--there are more good young classical players doing the performance circuit today than there have ever been. And several of them cross into non-classical territory, both in terms of their programs and the audience that they attract. Andrew York, Dusan Bogdanovic, Sharon Isbin, the Assads and Muriel Anderson all come to mind.

DM) Why is there so much more pop music for guitar than for any other instrument?

MD) I think the guitar's predominance in pop music is a cyclical phenomenon, and perhaps a cultural phenomenon as well. Ten or fifteen years ago, it looked like guitar, as a prevailing force in pop music, might be supplanted by keyboards, samples, and quantized drum machines. It was around this time that a renewed interest in acoustic-based music really took off. It would seem that, once again, for every action in the universe, there is a reaction!

DM) What do you mean, the cultural aspect?

MD) I mention the cultural aspect because throughout music history, the "pop" or "folk" or "music of the masses" always seemed to center around a popular instrument. In another time or place, it could have been fiddle, a banjo made from a calabash gourd, wooden flute or whistle, even voice.What seems to be the common thread is portability. No matter how popular it may become, I just don't see the tracker organ as being the quintessential instrument of the people. Then again, maybe we need to re-examine the impact of portability on the transmission of folk music. With today's means of sending and receiving information, portability may cease to be an issue, if it hasn't already.

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