Claudio Maccari
Les Productions D’Oz: 23 pages
This set of Scenes, sub- titled Nine Little Pieces are most interesting to play and each one is just a little different from its neighbour and the musical language is friendly - modern throughout.
The set begins with Soffio (Breath) and is marked Leggiero, as there are a number of quaver runs down the fingerboard that one can tell are to be lightly played and not accented in any way. In between there are gently dissonant bars of almost waltz – rhythm moments before it ends on an unexpected chord.
No2 Time is an Andante in a mixture of 4/8 and 6/8 and begins with a complex arpeggio idea made up of open strings clashing gently with fretted notes on lower strings on the higher frets.
Indeed No3 Ruscello (Stream), although using a different pattern completely also uses that technique in places and runs along gently all over the fingerboard.
No4 Brown is a most intriguing two – pager marked Sornione (Slyly) which has a lolloping idea for its opening phrase in 7/8 intermingled with a number of time signature changes and is never allowed to stop still for a moment, but races around, always changing its style and harmonies.
No5, Dove Sei? (Where are you?) again has the gently clashing parts but is marked Inquieto (Restless) as the protagonist of the piece wonders where the other person is, as the music dives and weaves around whilst everything has a laisser vibrer marking, resulting in some interesting sounds.
No6 Marcia sounds to me as if it is the march from a horror movie where all manner of unspeakable things are happening on screen. Marked Staccato al possible, everything is heavily accented and gradually gets louder and louder until the coda where the fortissimo final chords say it all!
No7 Neve is more extended and gently races around in the first section before becoming Piu Mosso and consisting of block chords that still jump and leap around before returning to the opening idea and a varied close.
No8 Clorinda has a very mysterious main theme, interspersed with a crunching, almost angry idea a few bars further on. The two ideas then repeat with some variation and at times other new themes enter but eventually all return to the opening two ideas and then finally a coda where an Amoroso theme, gently brings this more extended piece to a close with a final note that is up in the air, and leaves the listener surprised.
The final Ilaria has the most variety of time signatures but has a main them in a mixture of 7/16, and 8/16, and consists of a three note chord alternating with a lower bass note in odd jumpy semi –quaver rhythms that are constantly on the change. A slower middle section in quavers is still uneasy in its gentle clashes before the opening idea returns and the piece, and indeed the whole set finish on a set of three fortissimo chords.
This is a constantly interesting set of musical pieces that are modern I style but not too much so, and which, although at times sharing a number of similar techniques throughout some of the nine pieces, are varied enough for the player to enjoy them as a set. They are intermediate upwards, so nothing is very easy, but this fine set deserves to get played by anyone who likes his music a little different, but not too much so!
Chris Dumigan
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