Filip Alilovic : Pahuljica Miniature No3 Bergmann

Filip Alilovic

Pahuljica – Miniature No3

Bergmann Edition: 8 Pages

Croatian  composer Alilovic has crossed my path once before with a large Sonata, but this latest piece is a great deal smaller. Translating as Snowflake, this is set in 3 / 4 in E minor beginning with some bars involving 12th fret harmonics above a low bass line. Even here there are once or two difficult parts because in bar 2 you have to put 1st and 2nd fingers on strings 5 and 6 on frets 7 and 8 and still play 12th fret harmonics on strings one and two with your 4th finger, which was a stretch that some would not find very easy to do. After this opening it develops into a rhythmically straightforward waltz, but with several harmonic crunches that might disturb some players, after which the piece becomes almost a constant run of quavers with many places where tgher notes you might expect are not the ones you actually play. After the first section the piece moves into a semi – quaver arpeggio section involving open strings intermingled with stopped notes, usually in a high position, after which a DS al Coda takes us back to the opening, after the harmonic section that began the piece. The coda keeps the flow of the quaver section right to the end where the piece finishes on two long chords, an E major Sus 4, followed by an E Major.

The entire piece is 69 bars , and so is a miniature as the title suggests but it is a little unusual harmonically speaking , and also it is far from easy as an actual piece to play, so if your technique isn’t up to itr, then you might not be able to cope with its complexities.

Chris Dumigan