Un nuevo día

Marked “misterioso” Guitar 5 opens in A minor with a slow pizzicato bass line, joined by Guitar 4, adding sustain to the “footsteps” and two more guitars provid­ing chords above the bass. The melody, when it enters, is sad, set over slightly dark chords, symbolizing the darkness before day. The harmonie is eerie rather than dissonant. Yet, there is movement in the tune, and as the pizzicato drops away, an increasing sense of urgency emerges, more from restless chords than from a change of pace or volume. The sun breaks through as the music is marked “romantico,” and a strong melody in A major sings out over a South American bassline and some striking natural harmonics - glorious writing with a sense of space and a refreshing texture. A return to the minor key soon fol­lows-can this be British weather we’re writing about? Not at all; there is a cunning mixture of threes and twos and the music here is moving forward at a more brisk pace, through some luscious key chang­es, before finally returning to the opening theme, which is modified to conclude with a powerful ending back in the minor key. This is not a work for an inexperienced quintet, yet not too technically advanced. It’s more that each line is rhythmically in­dependent of the others, so a certain re­silience is needed that a novice ensemble might not have. In terms of complexity, Gui­tar 5 is probably Grade Three. Each of the parts above has its own challenges.
-Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)