CEM (duo de guitarras) pdf

"“CEM, Samba,” originally composed for violin and guitar, was adapted for two guitars in 2018. The piece begins with a gently sentimental introduction until a repeated, pulsating low note prepares us for the onslaught of a vigorously virtuosic samba. This is not a samba for dancing, but rather a tribute to the intimate spirit of the dance. The repeated fragments of melodic lines and the precisely marked rhythms demand a brilliant performance from both performers. A slower section provides a moment of serenity before a blazing coda takes full advantage of the dance’s rhythmic implications."  GRAHAM WADE

CEM (Portuguese for 100) by Chilean Composer/Guitarist Javier Contreras, winner of the 2017 LMF Composition Challenge. Recorded on the Duo Sudamericano´s album released by the Naxos label.

This composition was created especially for the competition and is called “CEM” which means “one hundred” in Portuguese, referring to the 100 years since the recording of the first Samba in the U.S.A. It uses a creation scheme that allows for the demonstration of the interpreter’s brilliance and the range of their virtuoso and expressive qualities. The piece covers its main themes with different tempos and characters to generate a dynamic work which makes possible a range of settings that, in turn, allow for the extent of the qualities of the player and their instruments to be demonstrated. It was used the lowest possible quantity of thematic elements and, despite this, the themes always sound news, maintaining the dynamic and the attention of the listener. The piece allows for the expressive and virtuoso brilliance of the interpreter and get, through the classical composition technique, a work of significant duration without this resulting tiring for the listener despite the intensity of the Samba rhythm, a rhythmic intensity which means that the majority of Samba pieces do not exceed 4 minutes in duration