My piece Aurora Op. 68 is a rare piece, for me, conceived from a harmony and rhythmic device on the guitar (actually that which is played in measure one of the guitar part). The title of this work was arrived at by the dedicatees, following rehearsal of the piece and the feelings which that evoked for them. The Italian word aurora means dawn in English. Due to the prevalence of counterpoint ideas in this piece, I also like to think of it as being in a concertante style - where the guitar not only accompanies the clarinet but provides equally important motivic gestures throughout. Broadly speaking this composition uses a simple ABA with coda musical form. The outer sections contain the main flesh ideas of the piece while the middle B section is a slower more calming intermezzo-like serenade. The work also exists in a version for flute, clarinet and guitar, again, dedicated to the same performers. On 1 February 2008 the trio version of «Aurora« was unanimously voted first prize in the First Online CGML Classical Guitar Composition Competition directed by Stephen Dick of www.mojacarflamenco.com and hosted on the site of Alvaro Henrique www.alvarohenrique.com.
Aurora was composed in 2007 and is dedicated to the Duo Musaikon which consists of Davide Compostella (clarinet) and Alessandro Balsimini (guitar) who included it on their first CD, The piece won 1st prize at the «First Online CGML Classical Guitar Composition Competition« hosted in Brazil in 2008. Mark Houghton can always be relied upon to come up with a good tune and his seemingly natural talent for writing nice chord progressions and exciting rhythms when required are much in evidence in this piece. Although the guitar plays the part of the accompanying instrument it has much to do and also contributes to the melody substantially. Very much in a latin style, Aurora flows along in fine fashion in a bright and cheerful mode with a brief, slower segment coming mid-way through before an upbeat return. Altogether this is a very nice addition to the repertoire for this pairing of instruments and most suitable for concert repertoire for any upper grade players. The edition comes with full score and separate parts for both players.
Steve Marsh (Classical Guitar Magazine)
