REVIEW ON SONATA I DES COULEURS SUR LA TOILE FOR SOLO GUITAR by CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU GUITART MAGAZINE Sept/Dic 2013

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In his ongoing process of musical and poetical research, Cristiano Porqueddu has not only focused on the aspect of interpretation, but has also composed. Porqueddus music is truly authentic, and full of cultural and artistic references. His experience as an accomplished guitarist enables him to use models of composition for the instrument which are both simple (and often related to his study of counterpoint), but also very effective and precise. The first movement, "Les Fleurs Imaginaires", involves a highly evocative and expertly managed theme which, by use of rhythmic devices and carefully judged intervals, is then transformed and developed into a flowing guitar passage, with the fingering directly reflecting the musical intent. The passage becomes progressively more complex until constrained into a series of contrapuntal chords, finally revealing the true theme of this first movement: Doric and Phrygian. A composer is always put to the test when faced with composing the second movement of a Sonata ("Chanson au Crepuscule"). This is the most difficult and also important part of the exercise. Porqueddu manages to resolve all these problems of composition with consummate skill, using an imaginative approach drawn from outside music. The Sonata is inspired by the work of the landscape painter, Gesuino Curreli, while also evoking the writings of Proust. Porqueddus research therefore results in a sort of meta-quotation. Prousts evocation of memory takes on a truly fascinating three-dimensional form, with Porqueddu mimicking the idea of Prousts madeleine in his own musical composition. The listener can almost feel this sensation of memory with his finger-tips; without necessarily alluding directly to the great French writer, but simply by listening to the dramatic sound and mood of the instrument. The third movement, "La Terre des Lumires", has all the necessary power and expressivity to conclude this amazing journey. Elements in the previous movements are used to maintain an incessant rhythmic pace, evoking, particularly in the accentuated passages, some of the finest piano works of the first half of the twentieth century. The Sonata is dedicated to Luigi Attademo who we cannot doubt is able to perform it to perfection, emphasising all the musical and poetic subtleties of this important musical composition. Original article in Italian language here > http://goo.gl/svV3pa 2013 GUITART MAGAZINE