Aleksander Wilgos : Ten Studies in Minimal – Music Style : Bergmann

Aleksander Wilgos

Bergmann Edition : 20 pages

This Polish composer’s book is the first I have seen, it it is quite fascinating.  For a start, I saw the title and thought that I wasn’t going to appreciate it very much. I was very wrong, for these are really cleverly written, and superb pieces that are musical, interestingly written and very good for any technical deficiencies you might have. They are all short , but really technically interesting an musically very diverse and intriguing to play as well.

So we have Slope, which is in 12/8 and is in two voices, the lower one in almost continuous dotted quavers, whilst the top voice goes rhythmically across it in groups of quavers with the first one usually a rest. So you end up playing a constant 2 against 3 rhythm.

Pastorale  is an E Major 4/4 and even though it is in three voices , there are several harmonics placed in slightly unexpected places  that make this a little tricky than you might first think. Nice piece though.

Pizzicato has only  a few bars of pizzicato but begins with a repeated four note riff, that is exactly the same as Ike and Tina Turner’s River Deep Mountain High! It has a long noted melody above and half way through it changes to triplet quavers in arpeggio patterns but in several unusual places crossing open strings whilst in higher positions.

No4, Waterhouse gives the reader a slightly unusual task of playing a piece that is written on two staves, as the lowest voice is ‘quote’- ‘The additional staff is presented for clarity of the notation.’ Yes, it does make it clearer to understand, but it does take a little bit of working out at first!

Hammer has, as the title suggests, lots of hammer –ons in an almost continuous run of quavers that move around a lot on the fingerboard.

New Beginning is in 5/8 and has a continuous rhythm of 2 quavers, one crotchet and one quaver, as the top voice over long notes, and sometimes chords beneath.

Romance is in three voices with the middle voice usually being a set of six quavers with the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th being rests. Above is a long – held melody and below a long bass note. The only exception is an 8 bar middle section that is constant quavers set in chords, by way of a contrast. After this the opening style returns for a final 10 bars this time including harmonics and notes to be tapped on the fingerboard with the left hand.

Melancholy is in 3 / 4 and has a rhythmic pattern involving quavers and semiquavers that is the high voice throughout. It uses multi-le hammer – ons, whilst underneath a constant run of quavers, and occasionally a long bass note fill up the harmonies.

Struggle is in 2/4 but set throughout in semi- quavers triplets that are constantly on the move, with the first note usually also the lower voice and written as a quaver. There are lots of unexpected hand positions here.

The final piece is Tarantella After Michael Hedges as is a fast 6/8 full of pull – offs, unusual chord strums, and very fast positions changes, and completes this set really well.

So if your technique is a little lacking in one or two places, or if you are just intrigued by my comments, then this book is well worth getting!

Chris Dumigan