Prelude in E major

"With over 25 books published of his original compositions and arrangements, plus one CD and a DVD, Sheffield-born guitarist Nick Fletcher is fast becoming one of the darlings of Les Production d'OZ's catalogue. He seems equally competent at writing in a variety of styles whether it is Spanish/Flamenco, South American, Latin, Baroque, etc. and he also happens to be an excellent player. In the Foreword to this edition Fletcher writes about Bach's Preludes and Fugues where the Preludes act as 'gateways' to the following Fugue and for this reason, in concerts he often couples up this Prelude in E major to another of his compositions, the excellent Lady in the Red Dress in E minor. This flowing, perpetual motion-styled Prelude is stylistically written with the late Renaissance/Baroque period in mind but given obvious contemporary overtones. A single melody note at the start of each bar is followed by a rippling scale pattern reminiscent of a Bach invention, (indeed this sounds as if it could be a keyboard transcription). Smooth playing will reveal two voices in a question-and-answer fashion underpirmed by a constant single bass note. A nice key change midway through leads on back to the opening of the piece before eventually a lengthy Coda concludes the piece. The standard to do the piece justice is around Grade 6. The score is well-fingered and clearly presented (most of the minims are impossible to hold on for their duration and I presume it has been written like this for clarity). Never having been disappointed with Nick Fletcher's output this is another little gem from this highly talented composer."

Steve Marsh  (Classical Guitar Magazine)