I've long been a fully paid up member of Tisserand's fan club, and so it should come as no surprise that to me this writer hits the nail on the head every time.
These two modest little fun duets are both rags, and both written in straight rhythms on the page, with the instruction to make the quavers into a triplet of quavers.
Funny Rag is, as you might guess, full of humour with lots of bluesy melodies and quirky rhythmic ideas, with a memorable main theme and lots of light-hearted antics along the way. The coda comes about after a gradual build up of notes leading to a run in both parts of triplet quavers and a humorous almost throwaway ending: lovely.
Toon's Rag begins with staccato seventh chords sliding down the fingerboard, leading into a cheeky little tune built on a glissando. Again the accent is one of humour, warm melodies, and cheeky interplay between the two protagonists, closing on an irreverent pair of chords at the coda.
These two duets are lots of fun, and not too hard, but then are not exactly for beginners either. This man's music continues to delight. I cannot understand why I don't see loads of CDs full of his music. Great stuff.
Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)
