The first guitar was build in Spain in the 12th century and is said to originate from the Orient, brought to Europe by the Arabs.
From Spain it spread across all of (western) Europe, where it became very popular, especially during the late 18th and early 19th century.

In Porträtt 3 (Portray 3) I have worked with the playing techniques and the styles of composition we find synonymous with the guitar sound, for example the Spanish "rasgueado" - a special technique to play big chords by rapidly pulling the strings with two or more fingers of the right hand, often used in Flamenco - and accompanying the melodic lines with chords.

The musical material is based on a 8 note row, which also begins the piece. I have divided the row into three parts.
The first part is focusing forward, the second part is rapid and static, and the third part is calming down.

In the same way I have divided the whole piece into 3 movements - The first movement is using a lot of flageolets, high notes that bring a bit of insecurity. The dynamics are mostly growing stronger and the movement is getting more and more rapid.
In the second movement I use a lot of rasgueados, and the dynamics are going back and forth, getting nowhere.
The third and last movement is focused on open strings, and is using a darker register. The phrases are mostly going slower, loosing energy.
The piece ends with soft flageolets, disappearing into infinity...