Ngòmbí Variations

"It is of no doubt that Dusan Bogdanovic is a richly talented composer whose music is widely enjoyed and played all over the world. It is also a fact that the very large majority of it is extremely complex and very difficult to get your hands around. This latest set of variations is based on a pattern played by the Ngòmbí Pygmies of Central Africa. It is called Koda (Twins) by them, and is played on the Ngòmbí harp during rites celebrating the birth of twins. In the Preface, the composer suggests players might like to experiment with the sound of their strings by joining adjacent strings with a staple, or alternatively surrounding strings with a piece of plastic wire insulation to create some new timbres. This set of seven variations begins with a Prelude that introduces the rhythm of the motif via harmonics on Guitar 1 against a falling motif on the other guitar. Immediately, the rhythms are at odds with each other in such a way that only the most talented of duos would be able to get to grips with it. A typical example is at bar 28 where part one plays four crotchet groups of 5, 5, 6 and 5 semiquavers respectively against a second part in two voices full of cross rhythms that are constantly on the change. This situation continues for 48 bars; a substantial variation in every respect, followed by Variation 2 marked Improvisation, Variation 3 Chant, Variation 4 Ricercare Palindromico, Variation 5 Interlude, Variation 6 Quasi una Passacaglia and a final Variation 7 Postlude. This is a substantial work of some considerable length that only extremely talented players will be able to get to grips with. Once again, it is the huge complexity of the rhythmically diverse material that separates this writer's music from so many others, and if you have the technique then this could well suit you."

Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)