Pulsar

Set piece for the Hong Kong International Guitar Competition 2013

"This man's music is becoming increasingly popular, and judging by the few pieces I have seen so far, deservedly so. This latest piece is dramatic and has a constant 'pulse' through it, manifesting as an ever-shifting run of quavers. Against this quaver pulse, there runs, either above or below, a faster melodic idea, often in semiquavers but sometimes more syncopated, that takes both the excitement factor and the difficulty level into another area entirely. Perhaps the trickiest part is at bars 10 to 11 (and its repeat later on) where you have to have a very good and accurate thumb technique, as the melody races around in semiquavers underneath a three-note chord in quavers. Apart from that section, you have to be able to keep the speed and constant flow up throughout its 65 large bars. This is definitely a good piece to be played in concert as it could prove to be quite a showstopper. I also loved the end where it just stops dead in seeming mid flow, with the instruction to 'damp all strings and hold still for three or four seconds'. This is a fun piece that demands a good player but will prove a good vehicle for a player who wants to make an impact at a recital."
-Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)

The relentless, throbbing bass notes are perhaps the principle behind the title of this very pleasant piece. It begins with a lovely, phrygian-influenced, popular-sounding theme. The rising and falling, even hypnotic, diatonic main motive in sixteenth notes is punctuated by eighth notes at the end of the first couple of phrases, establishing the mood of the music. The theme moves to the bass, below repeated chords, and just when you think the music is predictable, it begins to shift rhythmically as well as harmonically. After hinting at a key change a couple of times, it finally does move from B minor to A minor in measure 30 and returns home after twelve measures. Pulsar is about three-and-a-half minutes long and ideal as an encore piece.
-Michael Brennan (Soundboard Magazine)