Comme des chansons (vol. 1): Thierry Tisserand

Composer Thierry Tisserand seems to stay out of the internet’s glare. Other than a brief boilerplate bio, an online search turns up not much of anything. But his music isn’t hard to find. He’s a prolific composer—happily, much of it aimed at students. He has a knack for writing attractive music that falls naturally on the guitar. So I decided to record all fourteen pieces in volume 1 of his “Comme des chansons.” In this collection, Tisserand manages musical quality without extreme technical difficulty. (For example, there are no barre chords in this entire set.) Clearly he wanted to offer good music that can be played without excessive labor. This means we’re free to put more effort into interpretative ideas. As you’ll hear, I’ve sometimes taken liberties with the music. The composer himself offers suggested changes in this music. Thus, it would seem we have his blessing to make our own discreet tweaks. After all, student works should exercise our imagination as well as our fingers. I hope you enjoy hearing this delightful music. Sincerely, Tom Poore