This Catalan tune will be familiar to most guitarists; ifs also known outside the world of guitar as a carol, set with Christmas words, and that makes it a good performance piece at School concerts.
Players of Grade Four standard would find nothing scary in this piece, although some of the rhythm patterns require confidence and maturity to keep the parts tightly in step when they are playing on different beats, overlapping rather than interlocking.
A leisurely free-form introduction with dreamy chords and little trill-like decorations lays a red carpet to welcome the tune. When the tune is repeated an octave higher, there is plenty of space in the soundscape to support all four parts, and there is some glorious movement underneath a still leisurely tune, giving forward direction without clutter.
The parts keep to their own register, but that doesn't mean that guitar four has a boring line. There are little damping jobs to be done, to remove rumbling open strings, and this makes the part fun to play. Guitar Three will need a light touch on the trill-like bars, but is rewarded later on with a chance to take the tune up high. Guitar Two, which sits just under the tune, has some very helpful dotted slurs that give a really positive indication on how best to articulate the line. And even Guitar One, which goes as high as top E, enjoys a leisurely pace with chances to add vibrato and enjoy the spacious sounds that are often too demanding for a junior ensemble to achieve.
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)
