Arapanés

This new work by the Belgian guitarist Boris Gaquere is dedicated to Japanese guitarist Yasuji Ohagi. Having reviewed a few of Gaquere’s compositions in the past I was expecting a demanding work containing intelligent writing for the instrument and highly inventive and stimulating: Arapanés did not fail on any of those points.

After a slow, improvisatory-sounding introduction, the piece flows along at a fairly rapid pace without much let-up. There are some lovely harmonies along the way with a delicate melody line weaving in and out exploring the length of the fingerboard. The overall effect is one of a tonal contemporary composition with overtones of Latin/jazz. At around half-way through proceedings a gorgeous tune which could easily be mistaken as being by one of the ‘greats’ - Gershwin, Porter, etc. Things soon heat up once again with some of music in latter part of the work being shown on two staves for clarity. 

Arapanés is a very enjoyable and congenial piece for both listener and player and is an excellent addition to the solo repertoire for the advanced performer.