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Marea de Silencio

(2018-19)

for flute quartet

Program notes

This work was heavily influenced by the music of George Crumb, in aspects such as its theatricality, its exploration of timbre, its notational innovations and its expansion of the possibilities of the chamber ensemble. It is freely inspired by a poem by Spanish post-war poet Gabriel Celaya, number XXVII from his collection Marea de Silencio (Tide of Silence), from where the title of the piece is taken. The work is divided into five movements, in which the members of the quartet are required to change their placement on the stage and interact in different ways. The score, fully handwritten, features unconventional notation and a wide palette of extended techniques and attempts to explore the possibilities of both the flute and the flute quartet, creating a mysterious sound world with an abstract narrative.

Translation of the poem (by the composer):

Eternity was only

Music of silences

And harmony of the spheres.

The angels,

Innocent and cruel,

Pressed the electric springs

Of love and death.

Their crystal hands floated

In the waters of the harps

And their sightless eyes

Got lost in the colourless skies.

The angels

Played chess imperturbable,

Moved triangles and compasses,

Tables of logarithms,

Theories,

Keys.

And wrapped in the celestial halo

Of these naïve and sad mathematics

Pronounced senseless words

With a solemn voice.

Premiered by the Quora Flute Quartet at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK) as part of RNCM Brodsky Prize.

Duration: c. 20'

Performance

1.05.2019 – RNCM Brodsky Prize, RNCM (Manchester, UK)

        Performers: Quora Flute Quartet (Jack Rainey, Katie Taunton, Carina Udriste, Rachael Watson)

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© 2023 José del Avellanal Carreño

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