I Temperamenti

"I Temperamenti was composed in 1988 by the Swiss composer Jurg Kindle and apparently, until a friend asked him for the score, he had forgotten about it! A search of the composer's attic brought forth some handwritten manuscripts and after a little 'tweaking' this publication is the end result. Anyone familiar with Kindle's work will know he has a gift for writing interesting and attractive music, often in a highly complex rhythmic fashion. His first played instruments (aged 8) were drums and as a drummer he performed in various rock bands and studied Latin percussion. This obviously had a huge impact upon his composing and having heard many other pieces of his I had half expected these rhythmic styles to be incorporated in this piece. However, the three movements are composed in a more 'formal' style and are refreshingly different. Collerico is the first movement and this has a Toccata-like flavour with an incessant forwardmotion drive with the exception of a 40-bar slower interlude performed as a guitar solo followed by a 'Spanish' section before a return to the initial thematic material. Melancolico is, for this writer, the highlight of the Sonata. Beginning with a brief guitar solo which sets the atmosphere (sad, reflective) it quickly develops into a more sombre, profound mood when joined by the harpsichord. After a brief spell the music is lightened somewhat when a change to a slightly quicker tempo introduces a delightful little waltz. The movement concludes with a return to the 'desolation' heard previously with the pretty little musical motif first introduced at the start having a more prominent feature here. The work concludes in joyful fashion with a spirited movement titled Sanguigno; having the characteristics of a 'rondo' this piece has a very memorable Mozart-like theme and it brings the composition to an optimistic finale. The edition comes with full score and separate part for the guitar. Ideally suitable for the upper grade duo.

 Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)