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Ellias, Roddy: Emptying Sonata for Solo Guitar. This is a four-movement work by the Quebec-born composer, which has some very involving music within its pages.The first movement, Calm, begins with a modal sounding melody of harmonies knitted in between ordinary notes in a way that makes you immediately sit up and take notice. Time changes are frequent, and include a different time signature for every one of the first eight bars, but don't let that put you off what is an arresting opening. Gradually out of the solo line a passage in sixths over low pedal notes takes over to be replaced by a trickily timed section alternating 9/8 and 4/4. A momentary tremolo idea leads to further exploration of the alternating 9/8 and 4/4 idea which then leads back to the opening solo line for a close on some high harmonies.

Shuffle Boogie is restless and jazzy and deliberately murky in its lugubrious harmonies. It goes at a fairly brisk pace and has some hair-raising moments that are tricky to read but very effective when played, this movement is quite extended and is considerably harder to play than the first as a result. It ends on a climb up the fingerboard via a series of clashing harmonies based around pull-offs to the open string, resulting in a final bang of a chord and an octave A to close.

Chorale is the short one-page third movement, beginning with just one or two notes and then gradually building; collecting notes as it goes until we are left playing block chords of some harmonie intensity that subsequently die away on harmonies.

The final Dancing does just that. Marked at 220-crotchets-a-minute its mostly quaver movement hurls itself around the guitar with various ostinati, occasionally interspersed with some complex jazzy chords for contrast. It is a very tense piece that really builds (a great player would do real justice to this piece!) leading eventually to a coda that firmly reaches the final bar and slams the door right in your face.

Wonderful stuff, modern but not alarmingly so, for everything is utterly approachable. It would require a really good player to give it the performance it truly deserves, but nonetheless this is a remarkable piece of contemporary writing. -- Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)

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Piazzolla, Astor: Histoire du Tango for Flute and Guitar. Histoire Du Tango is an exciting and lively work, composed by Astor Piazzolla for Flute and Guitar. This piece will provide an enjoyable challenge for accomplished flautists and guitarists alike. The work is divided into four movements:

Bordel 1900: The tango was born in Buenos-Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and the flute. The piano was added later, followed by the bandoneon. It is music full of charm and vivacity, that gives the impression of the good spirits and volubility of the French, Italian and Spanish women who lived in these brothels, enticing the policemen, thieves, sailors and hoodlums who visited them. The tango is cheerful.

Cafe 1930: This is a different era of the tango. People no longer danced to it, as in the 1900s and became satisfied by just listening, which allowed for a more musical and romantic evolution. This was a radical transformation. The tango became slower, more melancholic, and incorporated new harmonies. Tango orchestras were made up of two violins, two bandoneons, a piano and a double bass. Sometimes it was sung.

Night-Club 1960: A new evolution was witnessed during this period, in which international exchange increased considerably. Brazil and Argentina met in Buenos-Aires - bossa nova and the new tango were "same battle". The public flocked to the nightclubs to listen earnestly to the new tango - a revolution and profound disruption of certain forms of old tango.

Concert d'Aujourd'hui: Certain concepts join tango music with contemporary music, such as recollections by Bartok, Stravinsky and several others on a tango base. This is today's tango, the tango of the future...

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Tennant, Scott: Pumping Nylon: The Classical Guitarist's Technique Handbook (Complete Edition w/CD & DVD). World-class classical guitarist and well-respected educator Scott Tennant presents the most comprehensive technique handbook available for classical guitarists. This complete edition combines all three volumes of Scott's best-selling Pumping Nylon series. In addition to technical information not available elsewhere, it includes classic etudes by Carcassi, Giuliani, Sor, and Tarrega; musical examples by Bach, Turina, and Rodrigo; and original compositions by Andrew York and Brian Head. Learn easy to advanced repertoire pieces that are selected and designed to work with the various techniques addressed, including arpeggios, tremolo, scale velocity, and more. The included DVD features Scott Tennant, and the MP3 CD features the playing of Scott Tennant and Adam del Monte.

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Guitar Music of Cuba: A Collection of Popular Cuban Music for Solo Guitar. A collection of popular Cuban music edited and arranged by John Zaradin for solo guitar. Suitable for intermediate guitarists and arranged in standard and guitar tab notation with chord symbols. Check out guitar music from other countries in Chester's Guitar Music of ... series.