Puis le rayon vert...

'This recent work by Pénicaud is one of nearly fifty he has published for guitar over the past four decades. He opens with an epigraph, originally in French, which reads in part: "The green ray, once taken for an optical illusion, or even a myth, is a natural phenomenon that may be observed on the distant horizon from time to time, in the final seconds of sunset (or even just before sunrise) when the sky is very clear ...wonderful green sparkle ... can make us very happy in the most private way. Its very simplicity leaves in us a deep impression of peace and hope." [my translation] Puis le rayon vert... (Then the Green Ray ... ) artfully evokes such a scene of color and mood through "lucid stillness," to borrow a phrase from T. S. Eliot. Most of Penicaud's solo moves forward by way of changing time signatures, while ties and other devices subdue metric accents. [...] Given its profuse chromaticism, one may be tempted to characterize this music as atonal as well. However, certain pitches - Band E for example - do at times take on greater weight, serving as tentative poles of gravity in an otherwise weightless environment. Timbre and sonority are prime elements in this piece. Vertical structures contain mainly consonant intervals, with dissonant color tones providing vital tension. Of the latter, the major seventh (or its inversion as a minor second or minor ninth) contributes notably to the music's lushness. So too does the superimposition of harmonics and conventional notes in chords and arpeggios. Penicaud adds a plethora of performance indications, ranging from the most detailed dynamic signs - often every note or two has a different one - to the most liberal application of vibrato, sui tasto, legero; and other markings. Happily, players will find the broader architecture of Puis le rayon vert ... really easy to discern. The single movement divides into six sections, each with reasonably clear phrases, many of which immediately repeat in varied form. Others reappear later, also varied, as do select motives. Such thematic recall imparts a strong sense of unity to the music and facilitates learning. At about six minutes' duration, Penicaud's work does not impress by its magnitude. Rather, it acquires expressive force through delicacy and nuance. One needn't be a virtuoso to perform it, but one must be an artist.'

 Robert Ferguson (Soundboard)