Dusan Bogdanovic
Doberman – Yppan : Score and separate parts : (18, 7, 8, and 7 pages respectively)
A fado is apparently a type of Portuguese singing, traditionally associated with pubs and cafés, that is renowned for its expressive and profoundly melancholic character. Yugoslavian – born Bogdanovic, has here written very much in the style associated with this form of music, and as a result, this work is not typical of his usual complex harmonic and rhythmic style so apparent in many of his other pieces I have seen
The first thing that you find in these works is that there is always a very beautiful and, yes, sad melody in evidence throughout the 8 or so minutes of this trio of pieces.They are dedicated to Artur Caldeira whose performance with two other players you can find on YouTube, which is a very useful tool, should you want to hear before buying!
With guitar 3, tuning the 6th string down to D in the first two pieces, and C in the last one, the pieces all have a slow or moderate beat throughout, and are all characterized by parts that are definitely not easy by any stretch but that all have a moving melodic part throughout. Many times the 2nd, and even sometimes the 3rd guitar play in direct harmony with each other and a few times the music reverts to an ‘um – ching’ style in one or two guitars whilst underpinning the melody played by guitar 1.
There is a lot of moving parts on occasion, and the guitars are often running up and down the fingerboard providing a second melody in contrast to the main melody which is often being played simultaneously.
All three pieces are melodic, quite harmonious and providing you are a reasonably talented trio of players, you will really enjoy this lovely set of pieces, and so will your audiences.
Chris Dumigan