Imaginaire 9

Here is an imaginative little set written by a composer whose music I have seen a number of times before from Les Productions D'Oz. Here are nine little pieces aimed at the less-advanced player which have a delightfully quirky feel to them. Often the harmonies whilst being completely understandable are unusual and often give a slightly modal feel to them; as a result they often go into completely unexpected areas, which surprise and, amuse. Just take for example the opener Blue, ostensibly in B minor. Consisting only of one page and 32 bars it suddenly veers off at a tangent harmonically speaking at bars 27/8 only to arrive back at the tonic a moment later, as if nothing had happened, almost as if to say «I was only joking!« Another one that catches you out is the fourth in the set Marine. It begins in D major, only to resort to a hail of flats and sharps before returning to an altered form of D major with a coda that just stops almost in midair. By about the middle of the set you get an almost childlike feel to the pieces as they often sound like harmonically altered nursery rhymes or children's pieces in the manner of the Bartok set for piano. The entire set takes about 12 minutes to play and one's attention is held throughout by its individual style. Teachers might get considerable use from these pieces which generally do not demand too much of the player. This is a nice set, and nicely produced as usual. Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)