Shadow Lands, to reflect, in Fletcher's words, the tonalities of Minor and Major keys become slightly obscured as the composition explores a musical landscape that lies somewhere between them. The harmonic language contains a lushness which is given further focus by the voice of the guitar and the logical way the composer takes you through the piece. The notes hold no great difficulties other than allowing the grace and charm of the music to flow from the guitar. The score has few dynamic markings, maybe an invitation from the composer for each performer to present their individual thoughts and as long as this doesn't give us purely technically correct music with random if any dynamics, then the music won't suffer. I think enough of this music to recommend it without reservation, but please perform it as it deserves with full attention to the inherent yet unmarked dynamics.
John Arran (Classical Guitar Magazine)
Shadow Lands by Nick Fletcher is a tonal exploration through the dark key of b minor. As a composer, Fletcher works out his musical ideas in a sensible way that unravels as the piece develops. After the first major phrase-group, we are quickly moved into a secondary theme that introduces some chromaticism (in the way of passing tones) that gives the piece its unique flavor, In the B section of the piece, the motifs are continued in a quasi-development. In the description of the piece, Fletcher say's, "Despite the composition being firmly rooted in the tonality of b minor, the use of many chromatic notes, occasional dissonant chords, and whole tone scales gives the piece a slightly unsettled feeL" Although I avoid making comparisons, this piece is slightly reminiscent of Nikita Koshkin's Usher Waltz, Shadow Lands is dedicated to Russian virtuoso Irina Kulikova, so there might be a bit of that "Koshkin" sound within this composition. I highly recommend this piece because of its overall appeal. It is always welcoming to get a piece that is interesting melodically and harmonically, while giving the intermediate player a technical challenge. A player of a higher caliber could perform this piece in a recital and give it color and contour that would make it quite appealing.
Michael Anthony Nigro (Soundboard Magazine)
