Thomas Athanaselos
Bergmann Edition: 6 pages
Iguazu is a river that runs from Brasil to Argentina and in it are the Iguazu Falls that when added together make up the largest waterfall system in the world.
This Greek composer’s work here has a 5th string tuned to B as well as the more usual 6th to D. It is definitely for the more advanced players, but the effort necessary is well worth it, as the music is captivating and really draws the player in to its sound world. The opening bars are a beautiful four bars of a mixture of natural and artificial harmonics that lead into a dolce expressivo idea perched high on the guitar that gradually comes down into the lower frets but filled with complex rhythms and some lovely moments of string crossing and genuinely emotive harmonies, during which the piece has a very free feel to its rhythms. A slight increase in speed in the middle section brings in a more continuous semi – quaver feel with the melody often off the beat .A return to the opening speed and themes leads to a pleasing and quiet coda that finishes on an artificial harmonic.
This is another lovely piece from this composer and |I can heartily recommend it for the more advanced players amongst you.
Chris Dumigan
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