Naokolo (Around Dance)

“Challenging but rewarding workout for multiple guitars”
Subtitled “Around Dance”, this piece by the prolific and diverse Yugoslavia-born composer/guitarist was commissioned by the Boston Classical Guitar Society and is scored for five guitars and a bass part that is presented in both treble and bass clefs. The four movements are «Introduction» «Kolo» «Fugue» and «Choral» . «Introduction» has Guitar One and Gui­tar Two play a thread that is improvisatory in feel. The rhythms are challenging and not for the faint-hearted. With many rests and changes of Time signature it will be difficult at first to keep the parts in step. «Kolo» is a delightful and gentle piece with decorative trills and solo and tutti sec­tions. The thematic material is handed around to all except the bass part, and although the rhythms are varied, they lock together very well. Some of the parts have chords, and while there is no fingering and the chords have a mixture of stopped and open strings, they are comfortable under the fingers. «Fugue» is only in four parts, and guitars Four and Five have parts marked «Tacet» (which means «it is silent» in Latin). «Choral» has a much more challenging bass part, under­pinning a rubato melody and tremolo-style accompaniment. All in all, this «advanced» piece would be a challenging work for an amateur ensem­ble, but the music is quite rewarding.
(Classical Guitar Magazine)