When Buds Are Breaking”

“Möller was obviously some sort of wunderkind; a self-taught composer who by the age of 12 had written a large quantity of mainly chamber works for various instrumental combinations, a selection of which were recorded for a Swedish CD by top players by the time he was 14!

This duet is set in one continuous movement subdivided into several sections. The opening, marked “Evocative” has a very slow beat, (crotchet = 35) but the beats themselves are often divided into notes of very small length indeed with guitar 1 playing an ever-changing pattern of notes atop a repeated motto on guitar 2. This leads straight into the next section (B) and thence to a flowing melody set at a slightly faster tempo, the main idea of which continues for some considerable time until a rallentando takes us midway through the piece to a section marked “Spacious” where things calm down slightly for a little while. It is a short breather however for then the fast runs reoccur and reach a climax of complexity where guitar one is playing (at bar 96) 3 groups of 9 hemidemisemiquavers, 2 groups of 7 demisemiquavers, 5 demisemiquaver and 7 semiquavers against the second guitar’s 9 demisermiquavers, 10 demisemiquavers, a group of 7 demisemiquavers and a final flourish of 6 demisemiquavers and a semiquaver! (Fast then? Ed.) Try tapping that one out.

There follows a Joyful section leading into the final Journey where a long climactic tremolo-like idea on both guitars leads after 13 pages of closely printed score to a huge strummed coda.

This piece is very effective but very complicated and really is only playable by a top-notch duo, as anyone else would be left standing at the difficulties involved in actually getting your fingers round the piece, That said it is tonal and a very well written piece and providing your duo has the very necessary big guns to attempt it, it should sound very good indeed.”
Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)