May the Low 4th

Playful, delightful and bursting with musicality; these pieces would be equally at home in the concert hall or on the beach. This is the kind of thing our community needs: original music that explores and expands the voice of the ukulele. Bravo!

Gálvez’s original music for solo ukulele in re-entrant tuning has raised in the past few years the bar of a new ukulele repertoire, both in terms of elegant originality and indisputable idiomaticity, setting a reference for contemporary and future composers and performers. What I admire more about his output is the presence of clear elements from Western music tradition, that are filtered and renewed in the style of the Spanish composer resulting in music that is a joy to play and to listen to. This collection written for solo ukulele in linear tuning is no different: forms, themes, harmonies and rhythms that are strongly rooted in our culture become vivid original pieces featuring a neat character and a natural playability. May the Low 4th convey all the beauty of this collection!

Choan Gálvez manages to strike a fine balance between technique and musical expressions in his May the Low 4th collection. Most of the pieces are for the intermediate player but beginners and advanced players will find suitable challenges embedded within the pieces. The variety of musical devices is also refreshing: If ragtime wasn’t your thing, then baroque style counterpoint might, or maybe you can try a lyrical melody or an ambient piece, you have classical harmonic language mixed with jazz colors. This is definitely a collection worth spending time on if you’re looking to expand on your techniques and musical knowledge.