The Japanese guitarist Siyoh Tomiyama gave the first performance of this work in March 2012 in his 'come-back' recital - he had had to retire from guitar playing due to a neurological disorder. The work pays tribute to Claude Debussy and attempts to paint musical imagery throughout the three pieces with a little help from the titles: Full of Light Shedding Onto Grassland Before Noon; Romantic, Mysterious Dream in the Early Afternoon; Night Time Drawn Towards a Clown. The opening piece has rapid arpeggios flying around the fingerboard broken up with a couple of slower, calm interludes. In the midst of all the flurry of notes towards the end there is a very brief Debussy-like quote but blink and you'll miss it. Clever though. Following on is a dreamy, ethereal movement which contains the most interesting and descriptive writing in the set; all very attractive and suggestive of the style of the French master. The finale is very 'clown-like' - a humorous and quirky composition which brings the set to a distinctive close. These pieces are suitable for the Grade 7+ player and for anyone seeking new, attractive and interesting contemporary material, this could be ideal. Steve Marsh
