Adrien Verdejo and Mark T. McGregor started their first act “Toward the Sea”, which is divided in 3 segments, each segment focused on playing variations of complementary notes in varying pace, to further emphasize the spiritual dimension of the piece. The rhythm seem to be following an ever changing thematic transition which gave both artists the freedom to present a complex musical progression that entails the profound depth and mysteries of the sea, whilst glimpses of the beauty of its continuous stream of waves and most gigantic creatures that are in an uninterruptible harmony and piece concurrently. This is so lucidly portrayed in a pattern of high key notes on guitar accompanied by slow melody on the flute representing the sea unraveling itself, despite sudden, aggressive snappy blows of toneless flute that specifically display the magical sounds of whales’ blow of water at the surface of the sea water. Throughout the whole concert, except for the Argentinean piece “Histoire du Tango”, the guitar acted as the spine of the any piece, setting the thematic base and pace, whilst led solely by the flute. The flute has marvellously demonstrated an audible canvas of yet another side of the same facet. It displays dormant wilderness in the darkness which also delves a miniature tender scheme of life in a tropical forest-like setting, which emphasizes the tranquility factor and intertwined harmony of different habitats of Mother Nature in the theme.
Lastly, a unique tango piece which brings back a familiar tonal pattern to my ears, in which a consistent pattern of chords is played repeatedly using string picking, hammer ons and strong bends on the guitar that induces a feeling full of grace and liveliness, followed by mostly a relatively slower, romantic movement that poses a melancholic theme through its harmony. This piece was composed of 4 movements, just like a minuet, in which the first and third movements were grasping a steady sense of compatibility that exemplify a beautiful synced sensation of fast paced physical unity motion throughout a tango dance. It is then followed by slow sentimental melodic movement during the second and fourth movements that incorporates guitar tapping and mellow flute tunefulness that has some jazz influence which signifies heartbeats and affectionate connection.
To sum up, as a long-time lover of classical guitar and Flamenco,Tango, and Salsa specifically, I was beyond excited to see a live Tango piece. Having listened to various famous classical flamenco pieces, such as ‘Asturias’, I was so impressed with Verdejo’s confident and accurate rendition of a very technically sophisticated and and stylistically correct piece. It sophistication arises due to its appealing fashion of combining strumming and string picking almost simultaneously, to incorporate a fast, beautifully blended, polyphonic melody of a flute with guitar solo supported by base chords echoing in the back of the guitar and my ears. It was so satisfying hearing both during the last movement emphasizing each note they performed, without sacrificing emotion by sounding overly practical.