Cinquième samba

This is, yet again, a most attractive composition for trio from this composer. As with Coquery's Quatrieme sarnba the parts stay as first seen with the first guitar having the melody, the second adding a descant and texture to the ensemble and the third guitar being responsible for rhythm and harmony in a bass line. The skillful way in which the piece is written gives a feeling of an orchestral texture, a bigger sound than a trio. The parts, particularly if you are playing either guitar one or two, are always interesting to play. Rhythmic agility is required to make the two parts hold together, which they will do if played well. The third part by the very nature of the music is a consistent rhythmic bass line, lovely to play if you have the skill to hold a bass line, allowing both rhythm and harmony to be heard naturally.
This piece works well if played with the Quatrieme Samba there is plenty of contrast between the two to make an interesting pair of pieces.
(John Arran, Classical Guitar, June 2001)