Jurg Kindle : Blackwood for Violin and Guitar : DOz

Jurg Kindle

Les Productions D’Oz : Score and separate parts ( 12, 5, and 8 pages respectively )

Jurg Kindle is a well known Swiss guitarist/composer/arranger whose work I have seen a number of times over the years. Here he has written a substantial piece for Doris Orsan and Johannes Tonio Kreusch set in one long movement but consisting of two main sections.(Incidentally this piece also exists in a version for guitar orchestra and violin, which you can find a performance of on YouTube)

The opening section is an Adagio set in 4/4 with a dropped D 6^th, and the guitar has nine solo bars, which basically set up the rhythmic diversity of firstly 4 straight crotchets and then bars of 3, 3, and 2 quavers .This is all in the bass, while above some chords ring out, often not always the notes you might expect! As soon as the violin enters in bar 10 with an eight note run of demi – semi – quavers you quickly realise that this is not an easy piece at all to play, as both players have to be very good indeed, witness bar 1`5 where the guitar keeps up with the style it has been playing from the start whilst the violin now has three crotchets worth of demi – semi – quavers whilst the fourth beat is a sixteen note group of hemi – demi – semi quavers! The music itself is friendly but a little unusual harmonically speaking so you don’t get straight major or minor harmonies.

After 23 bars the guitar part diversifies into mostly semi – quaver patterns but then again not straight arpeggios a lot of the time. For example speedy pairs of thirds crop up a number of times, after which, at bar 40, a tremolo section occurs whilst the violin is playing long harmonic notes , and a few bars later, an extended section of trills .This then reaches a climax, leading to a DS from bars 11 to 32, and then to a Coda where a final retard takes the players into the second section , marked Allegro , in 6/8.This has a lighter more dancier  sound and there are plenty of moments where the instruments are placing 2 notes against 3.

This final section is quite extended, and there are many moments where the players should have lots of fun, with the violin having moments of Pizzicato interspersed with the Arco, whilst the guitarist is playing tambora. Everything leads to a fortissimo climax where there are an effective final few bars and a close on staccato quavers on both instruments

This is a nice piece of writing, definitely not for the moderate players amongst you, but if you both have the necessary techniques, then a lovely piece to get your hands around.

Chris Dumigan