Guy Bergeron
Les Productions D’Oz: 8 pages
This is the third in the series of solo works by Canadian – born Bergeron. Having seen, and loved the first two volumes (each of which had five pieces by the way) this latest set of five pieces did not disappoint.As before his love of the jazz harmonies does find its way into these works, and all the better for it.
Ad Lib Lovers does what it implies in the title, namely that this arpeggio driven piece has a set of chords that , firstly, are full of re- entrant open strings surrounded by fretted notes in their arpeggio shapes, some of which you will have come across before, and a few I hadn’t that momentarily caught me out! This las a lovely flowing melody too.
Fleur de Neige is in Dm, with a middle section in the tonic major and again has an arpeggio style but one that is constantly moving and so nothing gets repetitive. This also has some unexpected chord progressions that do keep the interest factor up.
La Vieille Cabane Enneigee has a folk like rhythm that could have originated with someone like Ralph McTell, but from there on in, it has a lovely warm feel, and one or two tricky moments that you have to watch carefully, but again this is a lovely piece.
Portrait de…… is as enigmatic as its title, especially when the piece has no speed marking, until bar 25 when it says ‘slower’, and the music is not in a style that automatically tells you what speed it should be played. This piece changes constantly without any real reprise, leading to the final coda, and a slightly disappointed feel as a result. I found this particular piece not as gripping as the others, but that is only my opinion. You may think entirely differently.
The set ends with Valse D’Automne a nicely harmonised waltz in Em, which if it has a fault, it is that I found it a little short, and wanted it to go on a bit longer!
Again this book includes some beautiful moments, and nothing is as you might expect, which is a style that Guy Bergeron excels in.
Chris Dumigan