A Dance Rhapsody is the first extended work by Chris Dumigan which I have had the opportunity to study. The work is most definitely for experienced players who can cope with both the technical and musical demands of the piece.

Written in three movements, the work focuses on a central Interlude, which acts as a keystone to the whole. The effect of this slow movement, marked very freely, is to allow the not inconsiderable energy of the first movement to dissipate whilst offering a moment of peace before the last movement is allowed to have its way!

The music is composed in the truest sense of the word, using short musical ideas, which are built and ordered into a tight composition. The structure wholly relies on the way the ideas are shaped. The techniques involved include sequences, both chromatic and modal harmonies often beautifully juxtaposed and all set within ever changing time signatures. However, whilst the written time signature has many changes, the pulse of the music is consistent and feels natural. Nowhere is there a sense of the material being forced, the writing is at all times both logical and coherent.

The edition is really well annotated with dynamic and tempo markings, which allow you to read the composer's intentions, whilst he has left the fingering to the individual player.

This is a piece, which should attract the attention of anyone who is interested in looking at what guitarist - composers are writing today, it follows in a long tradition of musicians. I strongly recommend it both as a musical journey in its own right and as a reference point as to the point reached by the guitarist at the end of the 20‘“ century.

John Arran Classical Guitar Magazine July 2005

The premise behind this piece is a slightly strange one. From Darkness Into Light is a two-movement composition which basically turns normality upside down and embraces an imaginary journey from death to life.

The first movement takes the form of a lament and is a contemplative and profound tombeau-styled work reflecting upon the death of a loved one. This anguish is relieved part way through with the arrival of a jubilant passage when happier times are recollected but this is short - lived and the opening sombre mood returns.

Marked ‘Processional and Festival', the final part to this piece tries to convey the somewhat extraordinary idea of an imaginary celebratory gathering of people where the principles of life and death are suspended and all the gathering is informed that their descendants are about to join with them and that they are all about to meet up with their future families in a celebration of life to come. After a relatively lengthy reflective and improvisatory-like opening the main body of this movement gets under way in grand style with an extremely catchy recurring riff and some quirky rhythms. The approaching procession of the 'future descendants' is conveyed in a gradual swelling of the music culminating in a thunderous burst of rasgueado before a return to the opening themes.

The impossibility of the subject matter aside, this is a most exciting and interesting work very worthy for the concert platform and most suitable for the Grade 7+ player.

Steve Marsh

Traditional tunes don't get much more deep and moving than this one, especially for those with a weakness for modal melody. The space and resonance around the tune is helped by the D tuning whose sonority gives the composer lots of scope to work the material.

There are three short variations, the last building massively to fff before disappearing abruptly. This last section pushes the technical remit into the upper grades.

The edition looks relatively well throughout and certainly works effectively. It has great atmosphere.

Stephen Kenyon

Subtitled ‘24 pieces in all the major and minor keys' this is a demanding and fascinating collection of short pieces. The composer's objective to create pieces of great brevity combined with structural and thematic completion was a very ambitious idea- the sort of self imposed discipline that often brings out the best in a writer.

The added complication of a complete key cycle is the extra dimension that adds rigour - and scary factor. Guitarists do not like key signatures of any length, and the more remote - from - normal keys here are appreciably harder to read one's way through, and more tiring on the left hand as open strings disappear from the available harmony. Sometimes familiar- looking chords appear like friendly islands of repose before the music sinks back to its unfamiliar key.

Almost before he's started the first piece in C, Dumigan is straining at the tonal leash with modal-ish F sharps pulling away. Throughout the set the music is impulsive and prone to restlessness, with key changes that can be tricky to follow. There is a wide range of moods and some very clear and at times jocular tempo instructions.

There is virtually no fingering present, which gives great latitude for experiment, but I found myself often asking for some guidance where different options exist. Some passages are very idiomatic, but with the strange keys and unfamiliar fingerboard shapes less confident readers may find themselves struggling to see the pattern that lies behind the note detail.

Some individual items stay in middle grade requirements, but the set as a whole is only likely to appeal to upper - grade players with good reading and a sense of adventure and an interest in quirky modem writing. To them this collection is very highly recommended as quite an achievement in contemporary guitar composition.

Stephen Kenyon Classical Guitar Magazine: June 2005

This edition could be thought of as a sequel to a publication that UK guitarist/composer (and CG contributor) Chris Dumigan published over ten years ago titled Fantasy-Sketches. The earlier one was for solo guitar and comprised 24 “miniatures” in all the major and minor keys. This new edition covers the same ground, but is for two guitars and is made up of completely new material; i.e. the pieces are not duet reworkings of the first book.

The pieces are presented in major/relative minor pairings, but here the relationships end, as no individual work seems connected to any other; these are indeed singular items containing many varied moods and peculiarities. These could be described as self-contained miniature snapshots. with a wealth of emotions running through them. it‘s a mixed bag of compositions, ranging from sorrowful, romantic, and euphoric pieces, to lyrical works and menacing, creepy, “There’s a troll around the corner” music. All these compositions employ an abundance of rhythms, from the simple to the highly complex—the latter often created by cross-rhythms between the two players—and the end result is an enjoyable excursion into the contemporary-guitar world. For duos of intermediate and above standard, a thoughtful selection from this book could easily be combined together for inclusion in any recital program.

The presentation is good, with a clearly readable score. The absence of fingering is, I think, an important omission here, as some of the material (especially the ones in “remote” keys — six sharps, five flats, etc.) is quite difficult to read through, and some fingering suggestions and/or position indications would have been helpful. That aside, I found these Fantasy Sketches a fascinating, out of the ordinary, and most welcome publication—one to stimulate the brain.

Steve Marsh

A very personal composition by this experienced composer and arranger. Jessica was named after the composer's daughter. In his words its ‘happy and uncomplicated structure and melody seemed an ideal piece to name after her.’ This man is indeed lucky. Not only can he write such lovely music but he has an uncomplicated daughter! Does he give classes?

Originally written as a guitar solo the music was first performed by Shuko Shibata in 1998, whilst the duet version had its first performance by Paul Gregory and Alison Parratt in 2001.

Of the two versions you must make your own choice, the original has a simplicity and speaks through an almost child - like voice, the duo arrangement gives the impression with its two voices of having grown up!

Utterly charming to play or listen to. Wouldn't it be fascinating, as this piece was composed in 1995, to hear whether the uncomplicated part still applies?

John Arran, Classical Guitar Magazine April 2005

Lifedance was commissioned by Paul Gregory and first performed by his trio, Triptico at the Brighton Festival in May 1998. In a preface to the music, the composer describes the first of the work's two contrasting sections as depicting the ‘struggle for life in all its forms, perhaps even primeval life' The piece begins mysteriously with an eerie shifting tremolo and natural harmonics that define E as the tonal centre of the music. The uneasy calm is soon disturbed by a third more independent voice and the music gradually becomes more animated. Cross rhythms abound and rhapsodic statements alternate with simple uncomplicated passages as the epic journey unfolds. Triumphal E Major chords eventually bring the first section to a close.

A short bridge passage leads to the second section and to what the composer calls a ‘dance of optimism' The earlier struggle is occasionally recalled but the joyous mood is maintained thus ensuring that good wins through in the end An imaginative and entertaining piece that would be of interest to guitar trios of intermediate standard and upwards. The music is well presented but the almost complete absence of dynamic markings is rather puzzling.

Peter Rueffer, Classical Guitar Magazine March 2002

This collection of short restful pieces, subtitled 3 lullabies comes from a name you may primarily know from these pages as a reviewer. Well, the gamekeeper is also a busy poacher, with as far as I have seen an interest in composition of an immediate and accessible nature frequently referencing a folk - music background.

The three pieces here are finely written for the instrument with a knowing degree of distance from the totally obvious fingerboard tricks without ever becoming materially awkward for the fingers of a good intermediate player. I feel the edition does not give such a player all the help they will probably need to get the most from the skill with which the music is written, however. Apart from a total lack of dynamics there is virtually no fingering and there are many places where a less - than -- obvious technical solution might be recommended on the grounds of sonority and fluency, and sometimes found easier. It seems to me this is probably mainly an attempt not to put off potential players by implying that certain passages have to be played a certain way, if that makes them look harder. That is not a totally bad thing but it may leave some players coming to this edition on their own who could manage better fingering, feeling let down and not making the most of it.

The music is sweet but subtle and surprisingly unsentimental. The first piece had the greatest impact on me but that sort of thing differs with everyone. The set is a bit too demanding to be recommended as simple light relief, and is somewhat consistent in mood for concentrated recital attention. I trust readers will find a purpose for this attractive little set.

Stephen Kenyon Classical Guitar Magazine: January 2005

Compared to this composer's only other work for flute and guitar (A Peace for All Children - reviewed separately) this is a more lengthy affair written on a much grander scale and lasting nearly twenty minutes.

Partita is made up of four movements, a spirited Dance, a dark and brooding Lament, a Scherzo, and a lengthy Jig in rondo form. There are melodies galore (sometimes very folk-song like) fascinating rhythms and interesting, and at times unpredictable, harmonies.

Apart from actually praising a composer's work probably the next best thing is to say that the music is instantly recognisable as his or her piece. Just as works by Brouwer, Duarte, Montes etc. can be readily identifiable, so is the case with Dumigan's pieces. There is something very ‘English - like' about this work but it definitely has his personality stamped upon it.

Partita is a very strong candidate for consideration by any duo as a major concert item, being great fun to play and also to listen to. Originally it was written for the Paul Gregory/Alison back duo that premiered it November 1999 at the Williamson Art Gallery, Wirral, Cheshire.

Steve Marsh Classical Guitar Magazine, August 2005

The Manchester born guitarist composer Chris Dumigan will be known to many readers of this magazine not only for his critical reviews but also as the transcriber of all the recorded works of the Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios, a task Dumigan undertook in the early 1980s. Before this period his non-classical guitar compositions included writing 139 songs and two rock musicals. After 1983 he decided to only write music which involved the classical guitar. Having heard quite a few of his original guitar compositions I am astonished that he has not become much more renowned for these other pieces. Perhaps this new edition will change that.

A Peace For All Children was commissioned by the Meir Park Day Nursery of Stoke-On-Trent in 1999: the commission was particularly to benefit less fortunate children everywhere and all the royalties from sales/performances of this work will be going to children's charities.

The musical impact this composition has on one, throughout the entire work, is one of uplifting joy: there is at times though an underlying impression of ‘melancholy' hidden in the music but the overall sentiment is one of hope and optimism. There are some enthralling moments during the five of so minute's duration of this work, such as the heroic 23-bar long passage where the tonic pedal provides a vehicle for the music to build up in excitement only to halt unexpectedly for a recapitulation of the opening theme heard at the start.

The music then begins to rise to a climactic peak before once again having a brief adjournment before the whole work rises up for one final time ending in what is best described as a ‘River-Dance' type ending.

This work was premiered at the Dillington Guitar Festival in July of 2000 where the performers were Paul Gregory and Alison Back. I happened to be at that particular concert and without doubt this, for me, was one of the highlights that evening.

A Peace for All Children is a stunning new addition to the flute and guitar repertoire, and one which hopefully will begin making more appearances.

Steve Marsh Classical Guitar Magazine: July 2005

...A pleasant surprise followed as we were treated to the first movement of Chris Dumigan's Sonatina for Tuned Percussion and Guitar, Introduction and Gigue. It's great to hear good music from fellow reviewers, as the spectre of objectivity raises its head when reporting on the work of a colleague. The Celtic flavour and lush harmonic pastoral flavour of the movement was given a fluid and perfectly synchronised performance...

Tim Panting, Classical Guitar Magazine: October 2002

Most welcome was the first performance (when's the next, many would wish to know?) of Chris Dumigan's Sonatina, composed for Gregory in Homage to Ravel, the latter having once intended to write a guitar concerto and not been able to fulfil the promise. Unquestionably this was an effective piece in its own right, not just an imitation. Dumigan, who was present, wrote it last year. This Mancunian candidate's composition was certainly enjoyably hypnotic.

Howard Thomas, reporter from the local newspaper.

Review in Classical Guitar May 2008

One could wonder why Chris Dumigan chose 'sonatina' rather than 'sonatine' to title his homage to Maurice Ravel, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century and one who favoured the deployment of earlier classical forms holding together an altogether loquacious and beautiful harmonic language. But such a quibble matters not a jot here as we come across a piece for guitar that I'm not going to get all Donald Francis Tovey about, even if I could!

The virtuosic characteristics of the piano are in no way attempted in the Sonatina as Dumigan, who is a reviewer for Classical Guitar, often cites the disparity of the physical capabilities of the two instruments, and as such requests that such attempts be left well alone when it comes to bringing solo piano works to life in the guise of solo guitar pieces.

So after playing through this three-movement work several times and finding it intriguing finger-wise: this is presented as virtually non-existent, for I get the impression that the composer trusts the player to be of sufficient strength and musical guile as to be able to work out satisfying solutions without being baby-fed for the duration.

What does it sound like? My handy 'Vlado Perlemuter plays Ravel' (Vox Legends) is a perfect sound-world reference, and a must for Ravellists. As Ravel favoured modal melodies, Dumigan's Sonatina too has a modal perfume. Rather than sounding like Ravel's own Sonatine it has the cadences reminiscent of the Menuet Antique or even the Menuet Sur Le Nom De Haydn. The marcato-themed first movement does sandwich a menuet-style second movement between a third, marked allegro molto: this has the same tempo marking as the first but with a dominance of a rhapsodic semi-quaver section, which will please those who love the excitement of Villa-Lobos's compositions.

One of the few pieces for the guitar to come my way that actually travels to places that are both harmonically and melodically interesting. Recommended.

Tim Panting

Inside the cover the composer describes his long desire to use Shenandoah in a guitar arrangement, and how he approached it in this work. A scene-setting introduction leads to a harmonically ornate statement of the tune in treble and then middle registers, a revisiting of the introductory idea, the theme spotted about with harmonics and then a winding down conclusion.

The piece is beautifully written, as one would hope and expect from this experienced hand. Much use is made of high fret positions and resonant cross- stringing effects, which are shown by position marks alone, not a single finger number being used. With the exception of a couple of really tricky chords everything should be fine for a middle-grades player: however the high-position reading required is likely to baffle them no end, and this pushes the piece several notches higher.

Nitpicking aside, it's a nice piece, and I'd definitely use it in certain circumstances.

Stephen Kenyon

Dumigan's Sonatina for two guitars is an extensive work lasting for around 17 minutes. The composer says that it is very English in style, a fact, which pervades almost every page of the music. This is not a work to be undertaken lightly, it needs a superb technique and musical understanding if both the lyrical charm and various characteristics of the music are to be projected to the full.

The opening movement is marked Fantasy. Here the music is alternatively lyrical and busy, with a dance - like second section. This movement traverses several developments before it is brought to an end by the first theme heralding the coda.

The Folk Song which begins the second movement is simply done with florid decorations around the theme: the second section is a lush harmonised melody.

The final movement, in 12/8 and 15/8, has a very positive forward movement and is interrupted by a mysterious section before continuing with the opening idea. The movement is brought to a close by the reappearance of the work's opening theme to form a final coda. A more than interesting work, the difficulty in performance making the notes appear easy under the fingers - but doesn't that apply to everything?

John Arran Classical Guitar Magazine May 2002

There are certain composers whose music you just know will give you satisfaction relative to the amount of effort you put into its study. Dumigan is one of those composers. His music, of which I have reviewed several pieces, is born of having something to say. This gives his scores an integrity in which you know there is a voice behind the notes.

The present work is an early one, the composer's preface saying it was completed in 1973, but since that date has received several revisions. It is interesting that Dumigan has chosen to publish this work in its original form. Maybe he has understood that in this form, the music is at its freshest, an important element this work.

The music has three untitled movements following a quick, slow, fast format. The writing has a lightness of touch which gives a lucidity to the music's movement, the first piece developing from an ‘ad lib introduction' into a well-crafted melodic line. This is supported by an arpeggio line which works with the melody rather than accompanying it.

The middle movement shows a well-constructed melodic piece, punctuated with a section in a more rhythmic, harmonic style containing some beautifully voiced chords. The final piece, or movement, brings together these previous styles to give the work a coherent finale.

Dumigan, in ‘Summer Days', can be seen to have already understood the necessity for a formal structure to his music. Without this structure music can be difficult to comprehend.

This is a charming set of pieces, easy on the ear, yet containing genuine substance.

John Arran, Classical Guitar Magazine January 2008

I have reviewed compositions by Chris Dumigan before but try not to make a habit of reviewing fellow contributor's material lest some form of partiality be inferred.

In this instance I was intrigued and finding the waltz and its myriad offspring a fascinating and often overlooked dance - form even though I still cannot dance the waltz myself, I had the opportunity to try out the piece with Stuart Blagden, with whom I play in a duo.

From the outset this piece is great fun to play and very good for sight - reading practice: the fingering is given only on the separate parts, so don't lose those. The style of the piece is written as Dumigan himself says in the liner notes, heavily under the influence of the Grand Waltz, which can really only mean Chopin Tchaikovsky and the Strauss family. But the piece is not really a pastiche; each movement is satisfying and naturally urges you to play the piece in its entirety.

There are also elements of the South American treatment of the waltz, i.e. having 6/8 followed by 3/4, or superimposing the two. Harmonically Dumigan knows his craft, and the piece relishes some swooping forays into a very rich brew of chromatic counterpoint that both Stuart and I found extremely cleverly conceived.

With strong first themes, each movement weaves a distinctive shape and to play these well I would advise you not to shirk from molto expressivo as to be anything less would be like playing Beethoven in the style of Gesualdo.

Recommended for musically competent duos of grades 6 and above.

Tim Panting Classical Guitar Magazine, February 2002

I have to admit to being a big fan of the English guitarist/composer Chris Dumigan's many original compositions and this Woodland Arabesque has to be one of his most engaging and interesting pieces he's created for solo guitar.

Originally written in early 1989, Dumigan thought fit to revise the original manuscript in 1994. The work is in one long movement consisting of several contrasting sections and takes the form of a pastorale; the composer skilfully instilling an 'Englishness' throughout its entirety.

With the exception of some parts of the Allegro section, which need to be played ' formally, I felt the majority of this music worked at its best if approached in a rubato manner: there is plenty of scope here for the more ' romantic' player to demonstrate his or her musicianship, particularly in the lengthy slow section which comes towards the conclusion of the composition (it is this Lento episode where the revision took place in the 90s).

Altogether this is a most satisfying and attractive composition of around the grade 7 standard and the work would easily be suitable for any recital/recorded programme. The score is well presented with clear and helpful fingering.

Steve Marsh