Banda oriental

“Africa meets Uruguay in sometimes exhilarating piece”
Subtitled “Candombe”, this celebrates African music in Uruguay, and what a fusion this is - South American oriental music for Africans, with the minimal performance indications in French.
The music opens in E minor with a striking blend of 3:3:2 harmonics and a simple but effective “bongo-like” percussion. Use of slides and a mixture of fingered notes and open strings are very effective, and the rhythms are passed around like hot potatoes. By 16 bars in, everyone has been up to fret 12 and no one’s really played any bass. That comes next, and though some of the writing is spread across the forces in descending order of pitch, Guitar 5 is the jack of all trades, and uses the full compass of the guitar.
After some exhilarating rhythmic work, where different rhythms are bandied, there is a move to A major and a restful adagio with rich chords and a harmony line shadowing the tune a third below. It’s not long before the initial tempo returns.
Musically, I love it, [it is] a feast of exciting and accessible rhythms. And by accessible, I think Grade 6 to 7 players would have an enjoyable time working this piece up to performance level.
- Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)