Spring, marked allegretto, is in 3/4 in A major, giving a bright and open texture. Against a rippling background, there are motifs that convey 6/8 and 2/4 time. A lyrical opening develops elegantly into a hypnotic crescendo before the theme returns. Gloriously «open« writing that gives a remarkable clarity.
Summer, in C# minor, is suitably relaxed and lazy and opens with a feeling of leaves in a summer breeze as the «ninth« chords unveil a gentle, smoochy jazz feel. But soon a powerful crescendo brings massive chords - modern yet exhilarating and so well-chosen. The movement becomes strident, yet somehow relaxed. Winter is next and is a mix of time signatures comprising most numbers it's possible to put above an '8'. I hear swirling winds set over bleak icy chords. There are many familiar looking chords here that on close inspection are chromatically altered and it requires a little effort to place them well on the fingerboard. Keeping in step is the major obstacle in this movement.
It is perhaps because Winter fades to a single guitar that Fall comes last and allows the quartet to finish together. Set in E minor in a mix of 2/4 and 3/4, this is Allegro and I can hear Jack Frost dancing about over deep and discordant chords that convey and powerful sense of restlessness. With a broad palette of chromatic harmony and a heady mix of sharps flats and naturals on every degree of the scale (yes, even F flat rears its head), this piece weaves and turns. A crashing fortissimo has some gloriously understated movement that brings an inexorable approach to one final massive and deeply satisfying chord.
Given four players of sufficient confidence to weave the Winter movement together, this has a freshness and originality that is very pleasing.
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)
