Christian Vasseur & Charlie Beresford: Les Amoureuses

Having first made contact in 2008, after discovering each other's music, English-speaking Charlie Beresford and French-speaking Christian Vasseur, both guitarists, communicated with one another for several years, each keeping in touch with what the other was working on. During this period, Beresford was a member of the quartet Fourth Page and was also developing his links with cellist Sonia Hammond. As well as being a member of the musical collective O.E.S., Vasseur issued a steady flow of limited-edition recordings.

Eventually, in 2018, Beresford suggested that the two could work together. This led to Vasseur arranging a small tour of Northern France plus a performance in Belgium for January 2019. That tour demonstrated that the two worked well together. In February 2020 they recorded their first album, Beresford Vasseur, in concert, in Brussels; it was released in September 2021, on The 52nd, the label Beresford set up with Canadian photographer Gaena da Sylva . That album emphasized the compatibility of Beresford and Vasseur; in the main, their voices were used sparingly and, whether singing or reciting, in English or in French, they were entertaining, and contrasted well with their acoustic guitars.

To a greater or lesser extent, the same is true of the duo's second album, Les Amoureuses, which was released on the Australian label Ramble Records, on 12-inch vinyl or digital download. Of the album's eleven tracks, three are instrumentals, while the other eight have poetry as an introduction, four in English, four in French. Thoughtfully, the poetry is printed on the inner sleeve so that those who do not speak French or English can get a quick translation.

Altogether the album runs for over forty-one minutes, of which four minutes feature poetry. On this album, Vasseur plays lap slide Weissenborn or Weissenborn-harp, so he and Beresford are distinguishable; the sounds they produce meld together well, complementing one another in a very pleasing amalgam. Their understanding of each other and their abilities to play together coherently bear witness to their long acquaintance and their touring together. This album whets the appetite to see them live in concert. Highly recommended.