Goss | Still The Sea for 2 guitars

Composer: Stephen Goss
Level: Advanced
Number of Pages: 16, plus separated parts
Instrumentation: 2 Guitars


CONTENTS
The Black River



Silent Pool



Fire Water





Still the Sea pays homage to the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. Its title refers to his piece Toward the Sea for alto flute and guitar, and is a triple play on the word still: firstly, there’s Takemitsu’s continuing influence; secondly, his musical style hallmarked by a sense of gentleness as opposed to goal-oriented movement; and thirdly, the silencing of his voice after his death from cancer in 1996. Much of Takemitsu’s late music exploits his three-note SEA motive – Es-E-A (Es being E flat in German).

The three movements of Still the Sea are loosely based on what Takemitsu stated as his prime influences: Debussy, Nature and Duke Ellington. The Black River exploits impressionist harmonies and cascading rhythms; Silent Pool is the most direct homage to Takemitsu’s own writing style; and Fire Water explodes with jazz-inflected energy.

commissioned by ChromaDuo and first performed at the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, Maryland, 28th March 2010

recorded by ChromaDuo on Hidden Waters, NAXOS 8.572757 2012

• Model: DZ 2260
• Manufactured by: d'Oz/Doberman
• Condition: New
• ISBN: 978-2-89737-177-7