Jean – Maurice Mourat : Mes Variations Canariennes for flute and guitar : DOz

Jean – Maurice Mourat 

Les Productions D’Oz : Score and separate parts : 11, 6, and 6 pages respectively

This is a set of a theme and twelve variations is based on the well – known Folia D’Espagne, that essentially is an ostinato bass line and a consistent set of specific harmonies in a sequence. Many composers have used this in the past, including Bach and Ponce.

The theme is set as a 3 / 4 Lento, already varied from the version you may have come across before. It is immediately obvious that both players need to be talented to cope with the piece .

Variation 1 is a 9/8 Moderato, where the flute plays consistent quavers except  in the first group of 3 where a dotted quaver is followed by a semi – quaver in most bars. The guitar has a constant quaver run built from chordal arpeggios.

Variation 2 is a Marcato set in 3 / 4 where the flute has groups of quavers and semi – quavers and the guitar’s part is much more diverse and moves across most of the fingerboard.

No3 is again a Moderato but with the flute playing groups of pairs of quavers that move upwards, for most of the time, and the guitar is again full of semi – quavers

No4 is a Valse Lente with long notes and little movement for its 16 bars.

No5 is a 9/8 Presto, the flute playing continuous groups of repetitive quavers and the guitar accompanying with longer chords.

No6 is another Lento where the melody line is split between the two players with the semi –quaver runs moving from player to player in almost every bar.

No7 is an Allegro with the guitar playing a two voiced idea with the bass line constantly on the move in quavers and a crotchet melody atop. The flute here is almost completely in crotchets.

No8 is a Moderato with an easy guitar part set underneath a constant set of quavers in the flute, except for the final 2 bars where the flute has a fast run of semi – quavers.

No9 is an Allegretto, all set in semi-quavers that cross over from flute to guitar and back again throughout the variation.

No10 is a mostly a long noted Moderato in both parts that links directly from its last bar of a sudden group of semi – quavers into....

No11, an Agitato with a  very speedy  flute part in semi – quavers and a guitar part in two voices , a top voice of chords and a bottom bass line of single notes,

The final variation No12 is a Lento that is heavily based on the opening theme but slightly varied, until the final coda where both players have semi – quaver runs to the final Am chord.

This is a very pleasant piece that is not an easy play by any means, but always very playable with nothing too difficult if you are a pair of moderately advanced musicians.

Chris Dumigan