{"id":141155,"date":"2023-08-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=141155"},"modified":"2023-08-18T15:00:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T22:00:09","slug":"christopher-mallett-shines-a-light-on-pioneering-black-american-guitarist-and-composer-justin-holland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/christopher-mallett-shines-a-light-on-pioneering-black-american-guitarist-and-composer-justin-holland\/","title":{"rendered":"Christopher Mallett Shines a Light on Pioneering Black American Guitarist and Composer Justin Holland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Christopher Mallett is among a growing international coterie of ascendant classical guitar virtuosos of African descent. With Black heritage on his father\u2019s side of the family and Italian on his mother\u2019s, Mallett has an abiding interest in African American musical forms that ultimately led him to the music and life story of Justin Holland (1819\u20131887), America\u2019s first classical guitar master as well as an early civil rights activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallett\u2019s latest album, <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3pWJjLZ\" target=\"_blank\">Justin Holland: Guitar Works and Arrangements<\/a><\/em>\u2014the follow-up to his 2015 debut, <em>The<\/em> <em>Porcelain Tower<\/em>\u2014sheds long-overdue light on Holland\u2019s contributions to the classical guitar world. On the album\u2019s tracks, Mallett breathes new life into music that has languished since Holland\u2019s passing more than a century ago. \u201cThis project has been dear to my heart for many years, and I am excited to share it with the world,\u201d Mallett says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5GPMPz5w2HE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about the Holland project and Mallett\u2019s path as a guitarist, I caught up with the busy performer and teacher by phone at his home in Northern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallett\u2019s musical journey began inauspiciously in San Diego. The guitarist, now 39, picked up the electric in his teen years after his father showed him the chords to \u201cWild Thing\u201d and \u201cPeggy Sue.\u201d He began playing with bands doing 1990s pop punk and, later, neoclassical metal. \u201cI wanted to play guitar professionally but didn\u2019t know how to go about it,\u201d Mallett says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3pWJjLZ\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"744\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/christopher-mallet-justin-holland-UP.jpg?resize=750%2C744&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Justin Holland Guitar Works and Arrangements by Christopher Mallet, guitar, album cover\" class=\"wp-image-141165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/christopher-mallet-justin-holland-UP.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/christopher-mallet-justin-holland-UP.jpg?resize=500%2C496&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/christopher-mallet-justin-holland-UP.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/christopher-mallet-justin-holland-UP.jpg?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A fan of metal guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, Mallett enrolled at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California, in hopes of polishing his electric guitar chops. \u201cMy parents listened to classical music at home, and when I saw that there was a classical guitar class at Grossmont, I figured it could make me better at what I was playing,\u201d he shares.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallett showed up at the first class, with instructor Fred Benedetti, with an electric guitar. \u201cWhen Fred played \u2018Asturias\u2019 and \u2018Malague\u00f1a\u2019 for us, it blew my mind because I had never seen a classical guitarist perform before,\u201d Mallett recalls. Benedetti advised Mallett to get a proper nylon-string, and at 19, he bought his first classical instrument and completely altered his musical course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallett studied privately with Grossmont guitar instructor George Svoboda for two years before transferring to Oberlin Conservatory where, as a classical guitar major, he completed his undergraduate degree studies with Stephen Aron. \u201cI worked on my technique and explored repertoire with Steve,\u201d Mallett states. \u201cHe got me ready to audition for Yale School of Music, and I was accepted there in 2007.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earning his master\u2019s degree under Benjamin Verdery\u2019s guidance at Yale was pivotal in Mallett\u2019s development. \u201cBen opened my mind to what you can do with the classical guitar, and that\u2019s a huge reason why I wanted to study with him,\u201d Mallett says. \u201cI always loved his playing and that he did nontraditional music like songs by Hendrix and Prince, while also composing and arranging a lot of music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-and-Ben-Verdery-UP.jpg?resize=750%2C563&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Christopher Mallett and Ben Verdery\" class=\"wp-image-141166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-and-Ben-Verdery-UP.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-and-Ben-Verdery-UP.jpg?resize=500%2C375&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-and-Ben-Verdery-UP.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Christopher Mallett and Ben Verdery<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When he was still at Grossmont College, Mallett stumbled across Justin Holland on the Library of Congress website. It was a revelation. He says, \u201cI saw some of his guitar music, read through it, and thought, Oh, my gosh, a Black classical guitarist in America!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallet couldn\u2019t find much information about Holland and became obsessed with learning about his life and music. He reached out to Donald Sauter, a guitarist whose website has a section documenting Holland\u2019s works, and asked him for help in getting copies of Holland\u2019s scores kept in the Library of Congress. \u201cHe was living in Maryland then and went there, copied the music, and sent me a huge package of it,\u201d Mallett says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallett was persistent in pursuit of Holland\u2019s music, knowing there was more beyond what Sauter had given him from the Library of Congress. Around 2015, he went to California State University, Northridge, where he found more of Holland\u2019s music in the Vahdah Olcott-Bickford Collection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs far as I know, I now have copies of everything Holland composed and arranged for guitar,\u201d says Mallett. \u201cThere are arrangements of American and European popular and folk songs, but also opera pieces he arranged for solo guitar and two guitars as well as numerous voice and guitar pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mallett has been compelled as much by Holland\u2019s music as his life story\u2014a tale of overcoming difficulties and succeeding on sheer talent and determination in a time in America when societal attitudes were arrayed against him. Born into a free Black family in Virginia, Holland moved to Massachusetts at 14. In Boston, he worked as a laborer and took lessons in guitar, flute, and arranging. Wanting to learn more about music and guitar in particular, he relocated to Ohio in 1841 for concentrated study at Oberlin Conservatory, an institution that welcomed Black students in the pre\u2013Civil War era. After a few years, he went to Mexico to round out his education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"981\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Justin_Holland-by-William-J.-Simmons.jpg?resize=750%2C981&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Justin Holland illustration\" class=\"wp-image-141167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Justin_Holland-by-William-J.-Simmons.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Justin_Holland-by-William-J.-Simmons.jpg?resize=382%2C500&amp;ssl=1 382w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Justin_Holland-by-William-J.-Simmons.jpg?resize=229%2C300&amp;ssl=1 229w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Justin Holland. Illustration: William J. Simmons<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to one biographer, Holland traveled to Mexico after Oberlin to learn Spanish so he could study the methods of Sor and Aguado in their original language. \u201cHe dug deep and became a true educator,\u201d Mallett says. \u201cHe was a template for what most classical guitarists are today: teacher, arranger, and composer.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in Ohio in 1845, Holland married Delphine Howard Minor and settled in Cleveland, where he became an in-demand guitar teacher. In his 1987 doctoral dissertation,<em> Justin Holland: The Guitar\u2019s Black Pioneer<\/em>, William Banks posits that Holland preferred teaching to playing concerts, perhaps because racial attitudes limited his performance opportunities. He began writing arrangements for his students \u2014ultimately penning about 300\u2014and began publishing them in 1848.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C_z9u5lwsMQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe became like a house arranger for S. Brainard\u2019s Sons and other publishers,\u201d Mallett says. \u201cAs soon as a new song came out, they went to Holland. After his guitar arrangement was available, it would become a hit.\u201d Additionally, Holland authored two critically hailed guitar method books, which sold briskly across the nation. Mallett adds, \u201cMany of Holland\u2019s early customers and even his publishers didn\u2019t know that he was Black.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a paper by Barbara Clemenson (\u201cJustin Holland: Black Guitarist in the Western Reserve\u201d), Holland was the first Black professional in Cleveland. \u201cThat the first Black professional was a classical guitarist is huge!\u201d Mallett says. \u201cCleveland was pretty open at that time and was the last stop on the Underground Railroad.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-4-photo-John-Ruddock-High-Orbit-Media.jpg?resize=750%2C491&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Chris Mallet playing acoustic guitar\" class=\"wp-image-141171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-4-photo-John-Ruddock-High-Orbit-Media.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-4-photo-John-Ruddock-High-Orbit-Media.jpg?resize=500%2C327&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-4-photo-John-Ruddock-High-Orbit-Media.jpg?resize=300%2C196&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Photo: John Ruddock, High Orbit Media<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Having gotten to know Holland\u2019s guitar oeuvre, Mallett felt a high-quality recording of selected works was warranted and successfully pitched the idea to Naxos Records. \u201cI couldn\u2019t think of a better label for this project,\u201d Mallett says. \u201cMusic by every major composer from the 19th and 20th centuries is represented in their catalog, and I really felt Holland deserved to be there. We decided to focus on the popular tunes rather than the opera arrangements. I spent a month reading through the music to find what I considered to be the most compelling set of pieces to introduce Holland to the world. A few pieces on the album are world premiere recordings, not just in their guitar arrangements, but because some of the original versions for piano are not recorded.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One such premiere is Holland\u2019s arrangement of \u201cDelta Kappa Epsilon, Grand March.\u201d Written originally for piano by Holland\u2019s contemporary Alfred H. Pease, it honors the college fraternity to which Pease belonged. The piece opens the album, and Mallett easily handles its lively melodies, insistent beat, pedal tones, chordal punctuations, and modulations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album features a mix of Holland\u2019s treatments of American folk, popular, and hymn tunes as well as songs and dance forms from Europe. A collection of pieces like these on guitar, Mallett says, \u201cpresents a time capsule of what America was hearing in the 19th century in the view of a classical guitarist.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chritopher-Mallet-Duo-Noire-austin-4.jpg?resize=750%2C501&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Duo Noire performing onstage\" class=\"wp-image-141169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chritopher-Mallet-Duo-Noire-austin-4.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chritopher-Mallet-Duo-Noire-austin-4.jpg?resize=500%2C334&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chritopher-Mallet-Duo-Noire-austin-4.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Duo Noire. Photo: Jack Kloecker<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>European entries include the Italian air \u201cBenedette sia la Madre,\u201d two polka mazurkas (the 3\/4 dance then in vogue on the continent), as well as a schottische, a dance step popular during the Victorian era. \u201cSpanish Fandango\u201d features a traditional melody that Holland casts in open-G tuning, making possible an attractive variation in harmonics. Holland employed theme-and-variations form in many works heard on this album. The variations for songs such as \u201cHome Sweet Home\u201d or \u201cCarnival of Venice, Fantaisie\u201d offered Holland\u2019s students a chance to explore various arpeggio patterns, scalar bursts, and more on beloved songs of the era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The influence of 19th-century Spanish guitar giant Francisco T\u00e1rrega is readily detected in the numerous portamentos connecting melody notes in \u201cStephanie-Gavotte, Op. 312\u201d and \u201cCarnival of Venice, Fantaisie.\u201d Echoes of Fernando Sor surface in octave passages in \u201cAntoinette Polka Mazurka\u201d and \u201cThe Maiden\u2019s Prayer.\u201d The jaunty, dotted rhythms of \u201cRochester Schottisch\u201d call to mind the music of Mauro Giuliani, among others. The sole Holland composition is \u201cAn Andante in C Major.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s reminiscent of Sor\u2019s \u2018Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart\u2019 with its quick arpeggio variation,\u201d Mallett says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to releasing the album, Mallett published the music in a new book called <em>The Essential Justin Holland<\/em> (Les Productions d\u2019OZ), making Holland\u2019s music more readily available to guitarists. Currently, Mallett is planning solo concerts of Holland\u2019s music across the country, and he hopes to introduce new audiences to the music of one of the earliest American guitar virtuosos.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI want the performance structured so that I can talk about his life in between the pieces,\u201d Mallett says. \u201cFor many, this will be the first time they have heard Holland. He had such an interesting life that talking about it will make the audience enjoy the music even more.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"505\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/DuoSF.jpg?resize=750%2C505&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"DuoSF\" class=\"wp-image-141170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/DuoSF.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/DuoSF.jpg?resize=500%2C337&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/DuoSF.jpg?resize=300%2C202&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>DuoSF. Photo: Teresa Tam<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Power of Two<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond his solo career, Mallett is an active collaborator with other guitarists. Years ago, Benjamin Verdery paired Mallett for duets with fellow guitarist Thomas Flippin at Yale\u2019s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. \u201cWe immediately loved playing together and became great friends,\u201d Mallett recalls.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flippin and Mallett have since released two albums as Duo Noire (Flippin is also of African American heritage). Their first album, <em>Figments<\/em> (2014), features the six-movement minimalist suite of the same name by Raymond J. Lustig. Their sophomore effort, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3OhI3MO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Night Triptych<\/a><\/em> (2018), showcases works they commissioned from six top female composers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EgS3eCYgQ54?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2015, Mallett and guitarist Robert Miller, as DuoSF, released <em>Corta Jaca<\/em>, an album of Latin American and Spanish music. Additionally, Mallett and Miller are the co-founders and co-directors of California Conservatory of Music, with locations in Sunnyvale and Redwood City. The school has nurtured guitarists who have won top prizes at the GFA youth, junior, and senior competitions, as well as the James Stroud Competition in Cleveland, and serves 1,400 students studying guitar, piano, and violin.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe also do community engagement through the nonprofit we run called the Peninsula Guitar Series,\u201d Mallett states. \u201cOur advanced guitar students teach students throughout the [San Francisco] Bay Area who generally can\u2019t afford lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-2-photo-john-rogers.jpg?resize=750%2C500&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Chris Mallet with guitar\" class=\"wp-image-141168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-2-photo-john-rogers.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-2-photo-john-rogers.jpg?resize=500%2C333&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Chris-Mallet-solo-2-photo-john-rogers.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Photo: John Rogers<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What He Plays<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Christopher Mallett plays a 2016 Glenn Canin 640mm-scale, double-top guitar with cedar for the top and inside layers, and Indian rosewood back and sides. For the bottom four strings, Mallett uses <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/44v9wQR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">D\u2019Addario XT hard tension<\/a> (string 3 is carbon). His top two strings are <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/44tDoNt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">D\u2019Addario EJ46 Pro-Arte <\/a>hard-tension nylon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/copy-of-no-342-september-october-2023\" name=\"magazine\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 198px; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/001_342_Cover-150px.jpg?w=1290&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Acoustic Guitar magazine cover for issue 342\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><\/a>\n<p style=\"font-family: sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">This article originally appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-342-september-october-2023\">September\/October 2023<\/a> issue of <em>Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mallett breathes new life into music that has languished since Holland\u2019s passing more than a century ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":141162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Mallett breathes new life into music that has languished since Holland\u2019s passing more than a century ago.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1692],"tags":[1922],"ppma_author":[1587],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Christopher-Mallett-photo-Jack-Kloecker.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1587,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"mark-small","display_name":"Mark Small","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Mark-Small.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Mark-Small.jpg"},"user_url":"https:\/\/marksmallguitar.com\/index.html","last_name":"Small","first_name":"Mark","description":"Mark Small is a New England-based classical guitarist, composer, and music journalist."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141155"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141648,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141155\/revisions\/141648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141155"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=141155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}