Jean – Michel Coquery
Les Productions D’Oz: (score and separate parts, 8, 2, and 4 pages respectively)
This Parisian guitarist composer/teacher has many works already in print and one area he is interested in , is enlarging the Chamber music repertoire, hence this third volume of progressive duets.
There are two in this latest set, the first being Rio Parana, a piece set in Gm in 4/4, and playing at 108 beats a minute. Throughout this piece the 2nd guitar is almost without fail the accompaniment, being a two voiced structure with the bass part a minim and 2 crotchets , and the top part a quaver rest , followed by a crotchet and a quaver, this sequence found twice in every bar. Everything in this part is completely found in the first four frets. The top melody part reaches up to the 13th fret F, and moves over the entire fretboard, spending a lot of the time on string one.
Rio Orinoco is in Dm, and only 4 beats a minute slower than the previous piece. Also in 4/4, the parts are very much the same idea as in the first one, where the 2nd guitar is completely accompaniment throughout and the first has the melody. Again the accompaniment is almost entirely the same rhythm, and the melody is single notes, that occupy a lot of the first string, and yet again going as far as the 13th fret.
Both the pieces are pleasant, aimed definitely at the less advanced players, and are light and friendly throughout. Nothing is very original, but as one might expect, serving a purpose to give less advanced players a chance to enjoy playing in duets, and as such this book works very well, and is a useful aid to that.
Chris Dumigan