I love ensembles where the players can't help but feed off each other's sense of joy, and that's why I love this one. The rhythm is simply delightfully bouncy, and there's evident fun in the writing, even to the point of preparing the guitars at the bridge to make them more percussive and spirited.
There's the expected 3+3+2 calypso rhythm in the bass; but there are some little variations on this that might cause a less experienced ensemble to have trouble keeping really tight - the percussive start to the prepared guitars will make this more noticeable.
Above it, Guitar 3 takes a role a little like the cymbal in a drum-kit; repeated semiquavers with the accent achieved as much by missing out selected notes as by emphasising others.
Guitar 2 frequently provides a countermelody for Guitar One, typically the same rhythm a third below.
Technically this is not too scary, ranging from Grade Three in the bass to Grade Five/Six upstairs, but the rhythm will catch the unwary, especially when playing quavers on a semiquaver boundary, so that the tune is pulled forward in time across the bar lines. In that respect, the bass line, despite being the easiest, would probably benefit from at least one strong player who can keep the beats lined up tightly.
The music is not at all repetitive and there are some nice modulations from the key of C into some of the more familiar neighbouring keys. These are matched by rhythmic changes, with occasional runs in triplets across all four parts, so that the piece sounds fresh throughout its entire duration.
My reservation is in how intermediate players will keep the guitars tightly in synchronism, as slightly errors will take the edge off an otherwise delightful little quartet. That apart, it's entirely evocative of Calypso and therefore entirely suited as one of a set of contrasting pieces in a school concert.
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)
