"Well this is a treat. Guitarist Daniel Lippel has put together a wonderful debut CD featuring works by Mario Davidovsky, Nils Vigeland, Elliott Carter, Soonjung Suh, Judah E. Adashi, and Peter Gilbert. Except the Davidovsky and Carter, none of the works on the CD have been recorded before.

The first half of the CD contains the work of the three "older" composers: Davidovsky, Vigeland, and Carter. Of the three, Davidovsky's "Synchronisms #10" is the highlight. As in his other "Synchronisms" pieces, Davidovsky blends electronic and acoustic sources with aplomb and sensitivity. After a long guitar introduction, Davidovsky slips in the electronics almost imperceptibly, yet the music's subtly increased energy carries the guitar and tape into a thrilling duet of musical equals. Davidovsky may be a crusty, old-school modernist, but "Synchronisms #10" is, overall, a gentle, beguiling work filled with pleasures both simple and complex.

The second half of "Resonance" contains three works by composers who are all under forty. I particularly liked Adashi's "Meditation: Three Episodes from William Styron's 'Darkness Visible'." This is a very sensitive, tonal work in three short movements. The guitar writing may lack the bravura found in several other pieces on the album, but in its place Adashi gives Lippel the chance to sing out beautiful, delicate melodic lines. The chromatic inflections to the relatively traditional harmony are well felt and never sound cheap. Also welcome were the luxurious silences: these gave some well-deserved moments of reflection to what is a pretty intense CD.

Whether he's rippling through Carter or chilling out with Vigeland, Lippel's playing is consistently convincing and leaves little to be desired. He's as technically sound as anyone could possibly want, and his musicality makes everything sound as natural as improvisation. "Resonance" may be a little difficult to find, but it's definitely worth the search."

David Salvage, Sequenza21.com February 14, 2005