"Written for Luka Vlasic and the Pozega School of Music Guitar Orchestra, this is a standard quartet, and doesn't use guitar orchestra instruments at all, so it's readily accessible to quartets and larger ensembles. Guitar Four is tuned to 6=D and D major is the key we start in. The bass line opens with a 3:3:2 rhythm, which provides a natural platform for a melody where the middle beat of the 4/4 bar is often syncopated - moved forward with a tie. [...] there is much attention to detail [...], where motifs are passed from line to line, canon-like, but with a gentle treatment that supports the lyrical melodies. Care will be needed to damp that open bottom D. The texture changes - crisp, tightly articulated chords and a more urgent melody. And then we find a sudden modulation to Bb, all the while maintaining that tight texture. The chords are thickened with the deep bass and the pitch range at work here keeps the voices well separated. The piece essentially reflects on itself a bit, with the phrases returning in reverse order, before a final section that fades lyrically away with some charming repetition. Is it for you? The overall standard is not going to scare people away - Grade 5 guitarists would be able to piece this together very successfully - the writing gives the music a well-defined beat which will lock the parts together. Some of the harmonies are a little coarse in places - there are bars where passing notes are played along with fixed chord notes, and there's a definite clash. But the clash is gone as soon as it arrived. [...] Does the title suit the piece? That's for you to decide!"
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)
