Angela Mair
Bergmann Edition: 66 pages
The Austrian guitarist, Angela Mair, has written a set of eighteen pieces that are immediate and yet clever. The first thing that you notice is that they often sound like an arrangement of a song for the melodies have that particular feel to them , and the accompaniments flow just like a song almost throughout the entire set of eighteen pieces. This makes them very catchy, and yet you have to be a decent player to cope with some of them, as you often find that the next phrase or bar is not obvious in any way, but needs careful fingering to get it just right. So the pieces are doubly interesting; they are catchy and flow like modern popular songs, and secondly they are not filled with ordinary accompaniments that make you think that you have heard and played this all before. Some of the songs do have vocal parts, but Angela is quick to point out that you can completely ignore them if you so wish, and just play the guitar part as it stands.
The title track that opens the book is set in D Major with a dropped D 6th and has a beautiful melody that crosses over the beats to give that modern flow of a song, whilst underneath the (usually) two other voices flow along nicely creating a relay pleasing experience when you can get it entirely correct with all the correct fingerings and emotional feelings inherent in the work. You do often, as in many of the other pieces have to jump around, sometimes in high positions, but it is worth the effort of getting your hands around it.
I’m not going to give you a blow – by blow account of the other 17 pieces, but suffice it to say that there are waltzes, ballads, romantic pieces, and lots of character pieces in a wide range of keys , but all having that feeling of warmth and giving you that emotional tug as you play them. This is a lovely book, that many will enjoy!
Chris Dumigan
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