Cinque studi brevi

These five studies are all in either D or D minor with a 6th string dropped to D. As studies go, they are more than interesting works and are not only a good workout in certain technical areas but good music too. No1 has a repeating syncopated chord and bass note idea. It is always changing throughout the work, interwoven with a quicksilver run with hammer-ons down the fingerboard and does take some playing if it is to be done cleanly. N02 is one of the standout pieces, with a beguiling little melody, often in two voices, set against long bass notes; whereas N03 is fast and rhythmic and employs chords up and down the fingerboard in swift alternation with an ever-changing bass note. Again this is most interesting and lots of fun to play. N04, although marked lento is one of the trickiest with a melody line in thirds and a middle voice that never stands still, requiring some careful fingering to bring off. The final N05 is very difficult, almost entirely made up of semiquavers, and consisting of hair-raising runs and a passage of complex strumming and is altogether a real tour-de-force. At a time when one often sees music that is slightly ordinary, banal or even derivative of so many other things you might have seen, it is refreshing to get a book that is entertaining, and breaks new ground. Wonderful stuff.

Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)

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