Five Pieces for Solo Guitar
This book brings together five intermediate-level pieces in various styles, from the Celtic to Balkan and neo-renaissance. As studies, each piece has a different approach to the development and control of sonority and articulation, and for performance they are an effective and popular set, collectively or as individual items.
Notes on the technical and musical aspects to each piece are included.
1. Song for Rhiannon
2. Fancy audio
3. Balkan Fidget
4. The Islands
5. Dancing Under Trees
Reviewed in Classical Guitar magazine, March 2009
Here is a nice little set of Grades 4-5 pieces each one having enough melodic and rhythmic invention to hold the interest and all serving an instructive purpose covering matters of articulation, slurs, phrasing, sonority, position changes, etc.
Of particular note is the poignant Celtic-flavoured piece, The Island, a deceptively simple-sounding piece where the importance lies in bringing out the several voices throughout the work.
The wonderfully-titled Balkan Fidget with its quirky 7/8 rhythm, and staccato feature is another which captures the imagination well.
Elsewhere there is the renaissance-styled Fancy; Dancing Under Trees, a piece invoking a traditional folk dance; and the gentle melodic work Song for Rhiannon, written for a baby's naming ceremony.
There are brief but informative and useful notes from the composer concerning each piece and the music is well presented, well fingered and contains much thought-provoking musical directions throughout.
