Instrumentation: Flute G / C, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Piano, Violin, Cello and Double Bass.
Duration: a.c. 5:30 minutes.
Year of composition: 2009.
Premiere: March 29, 2010. Contemporary Music Festival, Mérida (Mexico).
Sequenza Sur
Commission: Junta de Andalucía (Manuel de Falla Chair)
Program notes:
This work was born as a commission from the Junta de Andalucía on the occasion of the “Manuel de Falla” Composition Chair that was held in Cádiz (Spain) during 2009, under the tutelage of the Mexican composer Javier Álvarez.
Popol Vuh is the title of one of the most important books of the Mayan civilization. It tells stories about the creation of the world, as well as myths and legends of the ancient pre-Columbian civilization. Reading this book and the admiration that this civilization has awakened in me after a trip to the jungle of the Yucatan peninsula and the visit to the Mayan cities of Chichén Itzá, Tulum and Cobá, were a strong source of inspiration.
The piece is structured in five sections. The materials are treated from a primitive state (air, noise, harmonics, …) and during the work they will be organized in different layers. The work of the timbre, as well as the use of the new instrumental possibilities around it, will be the “leitmotif” of the work that will produce an organic body in continuous movement.
