{TABLE} Etude No. 3, Why not Mr Buckley? for solo guitar................. Dwyer Sonata for oboe and guitar........................................ Dwyer Parallaxis for soprano and alto saxophones.........................Dwyer Omeros for guitar quartet......................................... Dwyer Trio No. 1 for clarinet, violin and piano......................... Dwyer {/TABLE} SUNDAY'S midday recital bin the Lane Gallery was entirely devoted to the compositions of Benjamin Dwyer who has already established a reputation as a fine guitarist. As a composer he has a penchant for what one might call exotic sounds and this was most obvious in Parallaxis and Omeros.

In Parallaxis both saxophones had been prerecorded by Kenneth Edge and what was heard was a tape combining the two parts. Using the same performer for both parts and having both parts taped greatly helped the illusion that there was only one instrument at work and the gradual expansion of the sound from one voice to several, thanks to Edge's mastery of technique, had the happy effect of wedding, the kind of sound one associates with electronic processes to a more conventional polyphony.

Both the above work and Omeros (named after the poem of that name by Derek Walcott) had a sense of untamed energy barely held in control by the musical structures. The four guitars in Omeros made use of amplification (optional) and this brought a welcome resonance to the sound, especially in the bass. It also helped to blend in the occasional passages where the guitarists sang as well as played.

In the Trio for clarinet, violin and piano it seemed that Dwyer wished to make the three instruments into one and had eschewed diversity of tone colour. It was difficult to tell what was happening except in 5019 passages.

Etude No 3 was an excitingly rhythmic jeu d'esprit for guitar, but in the Sonata the guitar fought an unequal battle with the oboe.