Sonnet

This dates from 1994 and is more accessible than some of Nadia Borislova's later compositions. The upper part is a single line (with some broken chord passages) which could be adapted for a different melody instrument, while the second part is highly guitaristic, involving arpeggio figurations and long passages of tremolo, using the whole range of the fingerboard. In A major, marked Affettuoso, guitar two opens with a repeated accompaniment figure with added ninths giving an attractive open sounding harmony, setting the feel for the whole piece. The melody fits very well against this, especially effective in the parallel movement in thirds or sixths between parts, and the line flows flexibly across changes between 4/4 and 5/4. The second guitar's tremolo sections are fairly straightforward without too may fingering complications, with passages above the twelfth fret frequently using open strings in the lower part. A reprise of the opening material, in D instead of A, helps to holds the piece together. Harmonics give an added contrast in places and dynamics and shaping could make this piece highly effective. A lyrical and attractive work for an ambitious duo. Linda Kelsall-Barnett (Classical Guitar Magazine)