Description

Arnaud Dumond, Prélude et Toccata

For Solo Guitar

• Standard Notation

• 15 Pages

This pair of pieces by the very prolific French composer (b. 1950) has an unusual scordatura of tuning the 4th string up to an E and the 3rd string down to the F (only a semitone above the lower string). This decision was surely taken because the Prelude in particular has a rocking E-F motif throughout, which now proves to be on open strings. There is a plaintive melody above and some gently dissonant work going on below. The Toccata is written on two staves-a little like Domeniconi’s Koyunbaba – where on the lower stave you play the piece as if it is tab-namely, you get a D and a G written for the 3rd and 4th strings, but actually hear and E and an F, while the upper stave shows you what you actually hear. The Toccata is an extended piece full of fast finger-work and plenty of instrumental fireworks running over the entire fingerboard, and anyone who fancies the sound of this piece and can manage the above visual/audio problems, and has a thorough and advanced technique, will get much from it.