Gesto flutuante, Estudo

Here is an interesting pair of pieces by a composer who is new to me. The opening Gesto Flutuante is study-like in its material in that it relies heavily on one unusual rhythm that occurs and reoccurs throughout its four pages. It is the sort of piece that would only work on a guitar in that mainly consists of notes fretted high up on the fingerboard against open notes ringing on from other strings but in a totally fresh way, so I doubt you would' have come across its like before. It is not too difficult, once you have got over the fact that this makes it hard to read initially but is considerably easier to play once the Classical Guitar Magazine fingerings have been mastered. It is tonal and moreover never outstays its welcome. The second work, Estudo, is almost entirely made up of semiquaver arpeggios against long held bass notes. What makes this different from the norm is the unusual nature of most of the arpeggios concerned, as the composer seems to go out of his way to make them unexpected harmonically speaking which is by no means a criticism but merely an observation. Any player looking for moderately challenging studies that fall into the friendly/modern category might well enjoy this little volume. (Chris Dumigan, Classical Guitar Magazine, November 2002)