Vesper – Sean Shibe

Sean Shibe’s fifth PENTATONE album, ‘Vesper’, presents a striking collection of contemporary guitar works by the late Harrison Birtwistle, James Dillon, and Thomas Adès, all composed by musicians who do not play the instrument themselves. Recorded here for the first time, these recent miniatures explore the guitar’s expressive range in profoundly different ways: ritualistic and evocative in Birtwistle, elemental in Dillon, and allusive in Adès. Shibe’s interpretations reveal the instrument’s extraordinary colour, subtlety, and capacity for transformation, bringing each work to life with imagination and nuance.