Bryan Johanson

Sonata No. 6

Sonata No. 6 for guitar solo was composed in the final months of 2025. It is immediately preceded by a work for string quartet titled Atlas of the Invisible World. The writing of this quartet encouraged me to cast my latest guitar sonata using a narrative form. While there is no specific programmatic content, each movement is given a title that suggests the nature of its content. The first movement is reflective and restless, as if were constantly searching for an answer to an unknown question. The second movement continues the quest begun in the first movement, but using a much more mercurial musical fabric. The tempo marking is an additional clue to understanding the music: Veloce e agitato, con energia nervosa. The final movement is concerned with a search for resolution. This multi-sectioned finale takes the performer and listener into a landscape of changing perspectives that ultimately resolve into a kind of 100-yard dash to the double bar.