“Five appealing works for intermediate guitarists”
Having enjoyed this composer’s first book of “Medleys”, I was really looking forward to playing through this third series, and I wasn’t in the least bit disappointed. The first book dealt with the lower range of grades, with ten relatively easy student pieces; for this one, Tisserand has raised the bar somewhat with five works well-suited to the intermediate-plus guitarist.
There is a nice variety of stylistic composing here, opening with an exceedingly rhythmic calypso, which on first glance appears to be very complicated, but once the first bar is sorted out, things should fall into place for a while.
“Des jours meilleurs”, which follows, is a very attractive and nostalgic piece, with a lovely tune of a pop-ballad style. “Mecha Mambo”, with its Beatles’ “Day Tripper”-style opening, is another highly energetic and rhythmic work containing some lovely chord sequences reached at the half-way point (including a brief nod to Jimi Hendrix with a particular chord).
“Azur” takes the player on a melodically romantic journey, putting the hemiola (6/8 against 3/4) effect to good use. A swing-styled blues piece, “Les rues de marciac” concludes the collection in fine style.
All the music is clearly presented and well-fingered. Not having seen Medley No. 2, I cannot vouch for its quality, but if these other two are anything to go by, it must certainly be worth getting hold of. Thierry Tisserand must be one of this publishing house’s most favored composers, if his presence in their catalogue is anything to go by; here's why.
- Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)
