This is a tiny little arrangement of a Catalan Christmas song, possibly from the 17th Century. What a charming little piece this is.
Set in D minor, but with a rich vocabulary of harmonies, there is something almost Dowland about this.
The fourth guitar, tuned down to D, adds a depth and sustain over which Marc Bataïni has placed the tune and some nicely decorated inner parts whose style does not sit at all uncomfortably with the period of the piece.
This is a confident arrangement with an immediate fugal start to the piece, which always gets an audience's attention. Thereafter, the tune appears an octave (and two players) further down, making a nice contrast. There is a thoughtful mix of long and short notes so that the piece has flow without feeling duttered.
Unlike many of D'Oz's publications, there is information about the piece and there is copious fingering. There are no dynamics, but being a song, there would be many repetitions of the whole piece in a real performance.
The parts are, as is expected of this publisher, dear and easy on the eye.
For a teacher looking for something unusual for a Christmas concert, this could be just the thing.
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)
