Cirque du Soul is a quirky and humorous piece, with an occasional hint of menace, which successfully evokes the strange world of the circus with its slightly off-kilter view of the world. It takes the form of a quick waltz with a somewhat strange bass-line melody linked together almost throughout the first part of the work by two-note chords.
A middle segment illustrates the composer’s jazz background with a slower, graceful and moody passage containing some lush harmonies and some nice integration of harmonics with natural notes. The work concludes with a return of the waltz.
Cirque du Soul is an interesting and attractive composition, not too difficult for the Intermediate player, and one, which I would imagine, could become many a student’s favourite piece for a while.
The presentation is excellent with very useful fingering ideas and the ever-delightful artwork of Swiss artist Corina Sierk dominates the front cover in eye-catching style.
Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)
