Quattro Elementi (Four Elements)
This work, after a text by Italian pianist and poet Greta Cipriani, was written during the Winter 2021-2022. It has four movements: I Acqua (Water), II Aria (Air), III Fuoco (Fire) and IV Terra (Earth). These poems by Cipriani, written and sung in Italian, are about the force of the primogenial elements and the unfathomable mysteries of Nature. The composer’s sound palette has a clear and straightforward language. The tempo indications in the score are an invitation for the musicians to treat each movement as elements. The first one, Acqua, has the indication “Ágil, pero sin prisa” (Agile, but with no rush), and with this the composer tries to emulate the flow of water. The second movement, Aria, the indication is “Fluido, como ráfaga de viento” (Free-flowing, like a wind gust). Fuoco is the briefest of all movements and it is written in a style reminiscent of the Italian operatic art. The Finale, Terra, is the longest movement. It is a song for the Earth, as the giver of life. From the technical point of view, Terra is the most demanding of these Elements for the soprano. The movement ends almost in silence, with the music in the threshold of audition, like if an imaginary voyager was moving away from the Earth, and the planet was disappearing in the distance.
Bachiana Mexicana No. 3
“Danzas del Deseo” (Dances of Desire)
This work was written in 2016 and has five movements. The first one is an Habanera, a Spanish dance which origin can be traced in the XVI century, when the Spanish colonized Cuba and founded La Havana. The syncopated rhythm adds a seductive and tragic touch to the music.
The second movement is a Sarabande. This form of dance flourished in France during the XVII century and quickly conquered an obligated place in the Suite. Bach took the form to the highest levels of stylization and perfection. This movement is inspired and quotes the famous Sarabande in D minor, by Handel.
The third movement is an Argentinean Milonga. The milonga is a dance derived from the tango. This Rondó-Milonga intends to be a homage to Ástor Piazzola.
The fourth movement is named Son del Istmo de Tehuantepec (Song from the Tehuantepec Isthmus) and it is inspired by that region in Southern Mexico. The idea of this movement is surrealistic: the composer imagines Robert Schumann wandering in Tehuantepec. At the end of the central section, there is a musical quotation of Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony.
The final movement is a Bulería. The composer is a lover of Spanish Flamenco Music, and in this movement the influence of Manuel de Falla can be noticed. It is a bravura movement of hight technical difficulty. The rhythm of any Bulería is 12/8, which the composer alternates with a musical motif in 7/8. Far from diminishing the duende –that is how the Flamenco cantaores (singers), bailaores (dancers) and musicians call the accent of their music), this alternation emphasizes even more the Andalusian character of the movement.
Suite Sonora
Written during the Spring 2021, Suite Sonora is a work for orchestra in four movements: I Amanecer (Dawn), II Desierto (Desert), III Danza del Venado (Dance of the Deer) and IV Crepúsculo (Twilight). With this work the composer wants to express in music the majesty and mystery of the Sonora Desert in Northern Mexico. It was commissioned by Héctor Acosta, artistic director of the Sonora Philharmonic.
The composer imagines in this music a journey through the desert, from dawn till twilight. The first movement, in slow tempo, depicts the sunrise, when the sun rays start to fall over the sand. The second movement evoques the dunes and the magnificent rocky formations and craters, amazing landscape that, for moments, seems to be from another planet. The third movement is an expression of the ancient rite of the deer hunt of the yaqui people, and it is a homage to the native peoples of the region, for whom the desert is their home. The finale solemnly ends this imaginary journey through the desert.