Francis Kleynjans : Hypnose : DOz

Francis Kleynjans

Les Productions d’Oz : 20 pages

Here is a set of ten pieces from this French composer, who has written hundreds of works for guitar, as witnessed by the Opus Numbers of each of these pieces, ranging from Op416 to Op438,( although a few Opus numbers are not used in this set of 10). I have seen many pieces from this composer and they are always very playable, extremely melodic and full of nice harmonies and interesting fingerings that are not always what you might expect.

The opening piece Breve Eclaircie is set in Dminor, and marked Lent et Douloureux with two voices , the melody being in the lower bass line whilst the upper voice is usually arpeggiated chords set in a number of different patterns

2. Balade en Barque is in A Major and marked Calme and is essentially a gentle waltz, that in the middle section changes to C Major and then A minor, before returning to the opening section for its close. Again the melody and harmonies are always moving around whilst remaining clever, interesting and tuneful.

3. Douce Melancolie is in A Minor, in three voices with the middle voice usually rocking back and forth whilst the melody is in the top line, and long held basses underneath.

4.Recreation sentimentale is marked Joyousement Anime and set in D Major in 6/8.It is another lovely piece and it interesting that through most of this set of 10 pieces, the emotional content , whether the piece is fast or slow, is usually the first thing you notice about the writing

The title piece Hypnose is next and is slow and utilises many arpeggiated chords interspersed with open strings which does add a certain difficulty factor to the piece at first.

6.Valsanous is marked  Tranquille, pas trop vite and is another gentle waltz in E Minor and , in the middle section E Major

7.Creve – Coeur is set in B minor and again is largely in three voices with everything moving as a gentle arpeggio from the bass line to the melody at the top, but requiring the player to move considerably around the fingerboard as he progresses through the piece.

8.L’Habanera d’Anna is as you might expect in the Spanish style, with lots of demi – semi quavers mixed with semi – quavers and quavers to create the Habanera rhythms, and in the relatively rare key of C minor in the opening and closing sections.

9.En Toute Simplicite is another 6/8 piece in E Minor with a sad and expressive melody that turns into E Major in the middle section.

Finally there is 10.En Fin with is an Assez  Vif 2/4 piece in D minor full of rising semi – quaver runs above the bass line melody.

So in essence if any of you know and love this man’s music you will not be disappointed as each of these piece has his undeniable harmonic touches , whilst always being playable , but often with little touches that catch you out at first , thus requiring a bit of work on your behalf, to get it sounding right. This is a lovely book that moderately advanced players will really enjoy.

Chris Dumigan