Imperfect Fourth

Imperfect Fourth (2004)

-for Guitar Quintet (guitar + string quartet)

Duration: approx. 18 minutes

Difficulty: Advanced

Download includes full score and complete set of performance parts.

Perusal score contains score only, and is not intended for performance

The title of this work comes from the prominence of Perfect Fourth intervals in each movement, and the regular tuning of the guitar – E A D G B E, where all but the G and B strings are tuned a Perfect Fourth apart. Each of the three movements aim to feature the guitar equally as both soloist and ensemble member.

The first movement is a highly charged, rhythmical work, full of exuberant riffs contrasting with passages of lyrical beauty. The second movement is the emotional core of the work, with long, sweeping string melodies and an extended poetic guitar solo that tends a creative nod to Joaquin Rodrigo’s Guitar Concerto de Aranjuez. The third movement again leans towards the more energetic, building rhythmically driven melodic phrases upon an incessant, driven guitar ostinato that forms the compositional basis for the work.