Danza de la Tierra

This composer is Argentinean, born In 1957 and apart from playing his own country's folk music, also studied vihuela, theorbo, baroque guitar and lute, the latter with Hopkinson Smith in Basel. Fair enough!
This latest one-movement work begins Allegro Agitato in a restless pattern of semiquavers that make great use of the augmented fourth, that 'evil' musical interval so frowned upon in days gone by. Here his introduction positively revels in it. Gradually the musical line climbs from the depths of the bottom two strings up to the higher regions of the guitar, gradually involving more and more syncopation as it rises. There is a certain amount of tricky double pull-offs on the open strings here and there but all is well. The rhythms get quite tricky to negotiate but not too much so before a Rallentando Molto brings you to a Lento y Reposado section where three melodic parts intertwine in a gently clashing way before the first section returns. A nice coda leads to a brief climax, and a successful conclusion.
A pleasant piece, quite tricky to play but eminently guitaristic throughout in a gently modern Latin style that doesn't remind you of too many other pieces you may have tried before. Give it a try.
(Chris Dumigan, Classical Guitar Magazine)