Les 100 de Roland Dyens - Chinese Reggae

This publication is headed “Les 100 de Roland Dyens” because, believe it or not, Dyens has written 100 easyish pieces to “fill an objective void in my catalogue”. He goes on to explain that he has been justifiably criticised for not writing enough material for students who have been playing for 3-6 years, hence this quite remarkable “ton” of pieces; all of which are in the d'OZ catalogue. This first (for me) excursion into this quite exceptional composer's easier pieces is an amusing little idea, where there are two main musical ideas; firstly, an offbeat rhythmic accompaniment (hence the “reggae” in the title) and a deliberately oriental melody beneath it, It begins arid closes with a little cadenza replete with hammer-one and pull-offs in a very free rhythm. Of course, no Dyens piece would be complete without his multitude of written notes about every possible problem that the player might encounter, and this one is no exception but it is nice that a composer knows exactly what he wants and leaves you in absolutely no doubt as to the fact; so, we should respect his wishes and play accordingly. The piece is a lot of fun and not too difficult. Also it is not very long either, but is enough fun to ensure that it is on lots of students' music stands; it certainly deserves to be.

Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)