Sean Shibe –Dreams & Fancies review: An alluring, outgoing side on show

Scottish/Japanese guitarist Sean Shibe's first solo CD celebrates works commissioned from English composers by the great Julian Bream. Shibe is a characterful and fleet-fingered player, and communicates a strong sense of identification with everything he plays. The earliest works are Lennox Berkeley's conservatively conceived Sonatina (1957) and Benjamin Britten's Nocturnal after John Dowland (1963) which is also, musically, the most celebrated of the bunch. William Walton's demonstrative Bagatelles (1970-71) and Malcolm Arnold's typically crafty Fantasy (1971) give Shibe scope to show his more outgoing and alluring sides. The collection also includes three nicely done pieces by Dowland.