accompagnement ad lib.
Claude Engel was born in Paris in 1948 and is a composer, guitarist and singer who has collaborated with such as Charles Aznavour and Astor Piazzolla and has been involved in a wide range of activities from classical and rock guitar to composing music for advertisements and cartoons.
The several other compositions I have reviewed of his in the past have been full-blown solo guitar works of high technical standard; Ma Nouche is neither of these. It is scored for plectrum guitar, is of around the intermediate standard and consists solely of a series of arpeggios and scale passages, where, played on its own, it is passable as just a nice tune and nothing more.
However... when backed with the ad lib. accompaniment using the chord symbols printed above the score (i.e. played as a duet) it
becomes something much more interesting and appealing and would easily be at home in the repertoire of any guitar duo who perform in restaurants, wine bars, etc.
Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)
