Cumbión

This work is for four guitars and double bass. In addition, there are parts for claves, guiro and bongos. This is a nice length - about three and a half minutes, and it's strikingly rhythmic, beginning with guitar 4 and some smoochy minor jazzy chords with a South American feel to their rhythm. The bass comes in and instantly there's an accompaniment. The percussion enters in turn and the repetitive sequence has taken shape. A light and airy motif appears with little decorations from guitars 2 and 3 - not quite «stab brass«, but a not dissimilar effect. Some big percussive chords follow, in a rather spiteful rhythm that requires everyone to be in step. I'm guessing the percussion players will get it right first time and most guitarists won't! The opening theme is repeated with a thicker accompaniment before the composer plays some joyful tricks - some catchy rhythms, a waterfall of entries, fugue-style and chord to stop us in our tracks. The smoochy chords give way to some strummed chords of A9 over which the opening theme is reasserted in its new brighter setting. The development is not over and gradually the musical forces realign themselves, evolving from a bubbly fun accompaniment into something more purposeful and determined to herald a return to the original key and some chromatic sequences that sounded rather bizarre as the lines were played one at a time, but which stack up into large and stylish chords when all the parts play at once, And the standard? Well, the percussion is easy apart from that oft-repeated couple of bars, The guitar parts are not too irksome but there is a need for parts to be very tightly synchronised at some points, and capable of complete independence at others, so I suspect Grade 7 is a little on the low side of what is needed. Here is an orchestration that will work effectively and delightfully!
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)