Hommage au Bateau Ivre

The piece which inspired Narvaez to compose this absorbing solo guitar composition was a 100-line poem by the 19th-century French poet, Arthur Rimbaud. Written when he was just 17 years old, this 25-verse poem was written using the «Alexandrine quatrain« scheme, which is a four-line verse, where each line has a poetic meter of 12 syllables (this doesn't work if you translate the poem into English). The poem title translates out to «The Drunken Boat« and the poem, written in the first person, chronicles the various experiences and scenes which a boat would experience if it were full of water and sinking.
The music itself is in various sections but is played continuously as one single movement and is quite introspective and impressionistic and though the ambience for the majority of the time has a restful sensation to it, there are moments of quickness on occasion. Throughout, brief quotes from most of the verses of the poem are given (in French) to obviously influence the interpretation.
Choosing to compose a piece with the sixth string tuned down two whole tones to C gave Narvaez the opportunity to explore relatively unheard textures and these are quite effectively used in the Calmo middle section.
Altogether a most intriguing new composition all based around an interesting, if unfeasible, topic. Suitable for the more experienced player the presentation is excellent with good fingering throughout.
Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)