Pequeña Suite

El caminante
Niebla
Xochipilli

“A small but superb three¬movement work”
This well-respected Puerto Rican composer needs no introduction to many of you. His volumes have been a mainstay of the guitar world for decades, and this small, three-movement work is the latest in a long line of fine pieces. The first movement, “El Caminante” (The Walker), has a pizzicato four-note idea that acts as the glue to which the remainder of this (short) movement is attached. After a brief few bars in A minor, it veers into D major, continuing with the four-note idea as it goes, and dies away after only 36 bars. The second movement, “Niebla” (The Frog), is longer, and begins with a run up to some pairs of fourths that become chords of fourths at the very top. The continuation is an expressive little idea with some gently exotic chords and melodies; always interesting and slightly unusual throughout.
The final “Xochipilli” (an Aztec God-figure) is by far the longest and the hardest to play, beginning as it does with some off-beat triads made up, again, of fourths alternating with open bass E’s. This
climaxes with a resonant 32nd-note tremolo section based on E minor chords, before a molto espressivo three-voiced idea enters by way of contrast. A few bars of artificial harmonics lead to a sudden rush of notes and a new affettuoso section in a melodic three voices before the opening idea returns one more time, and a close of a huge glissando on fourth-oriented chords and a final slap of a bottom E string marked fortissimo.
This man’s music is always worth getting to know, and pequeña (small) it might be, but little in stature and musical ideas it most certainly is not. However, you do need to be a decent player to get the most out of it.
- Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)