Move Records Australian classical & art music, est. 1968

Return to the Dance

Guitarist-composer Michelle Nelson presents original guitar works that reclaim the long bond between guitars and dance, from Spanish Baroque reflections through 1970s rock colour to contemporary EDM influence.

Michelle Nelson guitar
Mark Murphy bongos, mark-tree chimes
Lesley Gentilin taropatch
Michelle Nelson composer

The programme includes the award-winning The Guitarist’s Bach, a homage to JS Bach in the style of his lute suites, written for the modern EADGBE guitar.

Homages and original pieces move from a Spanish Baroque-inspired opening through the five-movement Ice Crystals and a guitar-and-taropatch rag to rock and trance-dance treatments of the title idea.

Guitars and dance go together like two sides of a coin; from the Spanish guitarists of old to the Rock era and on to the Pop world of the 21st Century. As a guitarist I have innately understood this connection. As a composer I have often mused on how modern art-music strayed so far from mainstream taste during the 20th Century. Perhaps the best way for it to re-connect in the new digital world is by a return to the dance.

— Michelle Nelson

Reviews

This is a short (41 minutes) disc consisting of some homages, pastiches, imitations, take-offs – apply whichever term you like – and several original compositions. Melbourne guitarist Michelle Nelson has constructed and recorded a set of six works (well, five: the first and last tracks employ the same material in different guises) that are intended to link the old and the new as well as bring art-music back into the popular domain...Yes, you found plenty of easy listening in this album, which is at its most appealing in the Ice Crystals tracks.

— Clive O'Connell, O'Connell the Music

Artist

Photograph of Michelle Nelson

Michelle Nelson

Michelle Nelson is a composer, guitarist and creative educator committed to developing instrumental works that are contemporary in voice yet draw on traditional composition practice.

Audio previews

Tracks

    Return to the Dance Michelle Nelson

  1. i. Danza 2:44
  2. ii. Minuet 1:44
  3. iii. Return 1:44

    4. The Guitarist’s Bach: Hommage à J.S. Bach Michelle Nelson

  4. i. Prelude 3:06
  5. ii. Courante 1:39
  6. iii. Sarabande 1:46
  7. iv. Bourrée 1:02
  8. v. Gigue 2:02

    9. Ice Crystals Michelle Nelson

  9. i. 2:02
  10. ii. 1:32
  11. iii. 2:39
  12. iv. 1:54
  13. v. 2:46
  14. Platypus Rag Michelle Nelson 1:49

    15. Dances for the New World Michelle Nelson

  15. New Volta 2:40
  16. Rock ’n Rolan: Hommage à Marc Bolan 2:03
  17. Mirage Michelle Nelson 3:06
  18. Return to the Dance IV Michelle Nelson 4:36

Performers

Where to listen

Return to the Dance is available for streaming through Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Return to the Dance is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.

Product details

Catalogue number
MCD 531
List price
$25.00 AUD
Total playing time
40 minutes 54 seconds
Recording Engineer
Richie Brain (track 18)
Vaughan McAlley
Release date
Musical work
copyright
© 2015 Michelle Nelson
Sound recording
copyright
℗ 2015 Move Records
Category
Classical
Genre
Contemporary Classical
Barcode
EAN 9314574053128

Related recordings

Front cover art for Eclipse

Eclipse

Intended for 2020, this album and the Concordia Mandolin & Guitar Ensemble were eclipsed by the pandemic. Three years on comes Concordia’s sixth CD: chamber works by Michelle Nelson for plucked strings.

Front cover art for Flowers Still Bloom

Flowers Still Bloom

Guitarist–composer Michelle Nelson presents original works for solo guitar and concert ukulele, with harp and recorder duos, crowned by the eight-movement Isolation Suite written in Melbourne’s first Covid lockdown.

Front cover art for Ringing the Strings

Ringing the Strings

Melbourne’s Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra present a programme of original works and arrangements for plucked strings, including music by Sculthorpe and Fauré alongside pieces by the ensemble’s own Michelle Nelson.

Front cover art for Peter Sculthorpe

Peter Sculthorpe

A retrospective compilation of favourite chamber works by the late Peter Sculthorpe, drawn from Move’s own catalogue. Torres Strait song, Kakadu landscapes and intimate string writing are heard in performances by leading Australian musicians.

Front cover art for After the Fire

After the Fire

Australian composer and guitarist Michelle Nelson presents After the Fire, a programme of her own chamber works. Melodic and contemporary, the music draws on Australian places and histories while remaining rooted in traditional craft.

Front cover art for Brolga Dances

Brolga Dances

The Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra presents contemporary Australian works written or arranged for mandolin and guitar, from landscape pieces and dances to chamber textures across the ensemble’s distinctive plucked sound.