Variations and Fughetta

Zohn's music is always an interesting read. He treats his melodies often in rather obtuse harmonies that dislocate at first hearing, until one gets used to his individual way of harmonising them. Here he takes the innocuous little melody from the 2nd Bourrée of the 4th Cello Suite and invests it with all manner of unexpected twists and turns.
After a straightforward run through the theme, he immediately takes hold of the original melody's suspensions over momentarily foreign harmonies and takes the whole thing a stage or two further. He spans the idea over two octaves in a rocking arpeggio pattern but managing to make the bass element clash with the treble part with a disconcertingly modern result. Variation 2 is marked Chorale and has an inner part constantly moving around block chords. An Andante 7/8 follows that is scale-like in character although the harmonic crunches that occur show that the scale element is not as friendly and obviously harmonic as it might at first seem to be. Variation 4 is mainly built around a constant note in the treble part interwoven with a much lower note often at harmonic odds to its companion over long bass notes. No 5 is a Presto in semiquavers that is arpeggio-based whilst No 6 is marked Espressivo and has some jazz-influenced harmonies and again a number of surprisingly dissonant harmonies resulting from suspensions. Long enigmatic chords lead into the final Fughetta which is mainly in three voices before an unexpected return to the opening Bourrée theme in its original guise, as if to say «See, it wasn't as unusual as you first thought.
Very interesting and quirky with an odd slant that really appeals. It is not terribly difficult to play and so any moderately advanced player would be able to cope with it. Good piece.

Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)