Miniatures

Solitude - Infancia - Miniature - Cancíon de cuna - Caribeña - Pedacito de cielo

Here are six moderately difficult pieces each with a little touch of the unusual about them, which of course helps to make them stand out a little from the usual fare. Solitude begins this little set. In A minor and marked liberamente, it is lyrical, with some nice melodic touches and the odd excursion into chords remote from the home key to give it a certain piquancy. Infancia is at times almost modal in its use of melodies. Again the guitar writing is friendly with the unusual voicing of a chord or melody to enhance it. Miniature is the third item, and starts a little like it might develop into an offshoot of a Villa-Lobos Etude. Again the modal quality is uppermost, with a deliberately simple sounding two voiced structure that works very well. Cancion de Cuna is a dropped D tuning common time piece slightly larger than the others. Again there is a nice touch, where, after a pause on the dominant, you expect a D major chord. Instead you get a Bb major chord! Nicely done. Caribeña is slightly harder than the preceding items, with a touch of the exotic in its harmonies, and offbeat rhythms. The set ends with Pedacito de Cielo, a molto rubato item in E major which extends to three sides, and proves to be a nice upbeat closer. This would benefit any moderately advanced player who likes friendly music with a touch of the unpredictable about it. It is finished off by a top- class print with a fine glossy cover, as one has now come to expect from this fine publishing house.
(Chris Dumigan, Classical Guitar Magazine)