Pourquoi...

This short piece (115 bars) begins with multiple taps by all four members on various parts of the guitar (carefully notated in the preface) before a two note rocking bass part begins on guitar 2 swiftly joined by the others all playing similar, but harmonically clashing harmonies. This soon fragments into long notes before picking up momentum again with each guitar taking turns to take the lead. Harmonically every different part appears to be going its own way so that whatever motif each player is performing, the harmonies that occur do so almost naturally, with inevitably clashing results. It is not unusual to find, for example, instances where harmonies are as dissonant as the second half of bar 27, where simultaneously one finds C, F#, G, E, F and D all on beat 3.
After a gradual build up, the tension again drops with long notes and a well needed release, if only momentarily, of the tension incurred by the foregoing. Then gradually the parts build again, until a climactic section of violently contrasting chords and strummed and everything rushes in a scale like passage to a sudden stop, as if one has just collided with a brick wall. (The final chord is F#, E, D# and F natural)
The actual players need only be moderately advanced and so an enterprising quartet might like to give this unusual little work a try.
Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)