Prélude - Samba
«A few months ago I extolled the virtues of Suite Vagabonde by the same composer and publisher, so I was delighted to see this latest work of his find its way to my letterbox.
I am glad to say I was not disappointed! It begins with a Prelude marked Nostalgico, which immediately is slow and sexy and very jazz-influenced in its harmonies. It is marked Quasi improvvisando and that is exactly how it sounds. At 48-crotchets-a-minute it is not too difficult but has enough semiquavers in it to make it sound like something of a workout for the player, which it isn't; it is moderately difficult only. The concluding Samba isn't so easy. Marked Sempre ritmico, it is a full, catchy movement with loads of offbeat rhythms and accents destined to catch out the unwary player. If is so well written however that everything does eventually fall beautifully under the fingers when you have got to grip with its complexities.
At a little less than ten minutes in length it would be a vibrant recital piece for a player looking for something in the Latin/Jazz style, and would moreover really go down well with audiences too. Fabulous!«
Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)
