Tres Cantos Mirando al Sur

Tres Cantos Mirando al Sur
for marimba, guitar & double bass
(2019)

BUY score & parts

CANTO I: "chacarera" 6' 30" (play)

CANTO II: "en la pampa inmensa" (in the immense pampas) 5' 20" (play)

CANTO III: "como danza callejera" (like a treet dance) 6' 00" (play)

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total duration: ca 17' 50"

Tres Cantos Mirando al Sur was commissioned by a consortium of the following musicians organised by Kunihiko Komori:

Kunihiko Komori
Ryutaro Hei
Masao Tanibe
Filippo Lattanzi
Ricardo Bologna
Ling Sun
Naoto Segawa
William Moersch.

Programme notes

The word 'canto' in Spanish means 'song', 'chant' or 'poem'. In this piece I have used it in all three senses so the English translation of the title is not entirely accurate.
The rhythms and phrases in the three movements that comprise this composition have been influenced or inspired mostly by the folk music of my native Argentina. Form where I live in London, Argentina appears to be in the south, hence the title of this work.

Canto I: chacarera
The chacarera is a folk dance from the north of Argentina, considered by many Argentineans to be a rural counterpart to the urban tango.
At the beginning of the first 'canto', the rhythmic and melodic outline of a traditional chacarera is heard. After this initial presentation, a series of variations on the chacarera theme follows, developing this traditional folk dance in a new direction. My intention was not to create a new type of chacarera but to see where a chacarera may take me if I was prepared to transform its syntax and form beyond its original structure.

Canto II: en la pampa inmensa (in the immense pampas)
The slow, meditative melodic material that opens this second canto is not technically speaking based on Argentinean folk music. However, the spirit of this movement, the 'space' between slow phrases, its mood, was suggested to me by the immensity of the pampas, its emptiness, its silence.
I was harmonically influenced by 'And then I knew t'was wind', by Toru Takemitsu. (see the next page for more information)

Canto III: como danza callejera (like a street dance)
This third canto also features dance music as its basic material. However, unlike in the first canto, the music presented here is based on a mixture of different Argentinean and Latin American dances rather than on a specific one. In the streets of Latin America, one type of dance may follow another one often blending, juxtaposing or transforming each other in the process. This is the type of interaction I sought to develop in this final movement.
By combining these rhythms into a more complex structure I sought to create a developmental form which is not found in the popular culture from which these dance are taken.

Alejandro Viñao - August 2019


			Tres Cantos Mirando al Sur for marimba, guitar & double bass (2019)
	BUY score & parts

					CANTO I: "chacarera" 6' 30" (play) CANTO II: "en la pampa inmensa" (in the immense pampas) 5' 20" (play) CANTO III: "como danza callejera" (like a treet dance) 6' 00" (play)
AUDIO Biography Catalogue of works index of works Programme notes Photographs Reviews & articles Audio excerpts Discography HOME email
				total duration: ca 17' 50"
		Tres Cantos Mirando al Sur was commissioned by a consortium of the following musicians organised by Kunihiko Komori: Kunihiko Komori Ryutaro Hei Masao Tanibe Filippo Lattanzi Ricardo Bologna Ling Sun Naoto Segawa William Moersch.
		Programme notes The word 'canto' in Spanish means 'song', 'chant' or 'poem'. In this piece I have used it in all three senses so the English translation of the title is not entirely accurate. The rhythms and phrases in the three movements that comprise this composition have been influenced or inspired mostly by the folk music of my native Argentina. Form where I live in London, Argentina appears to be in the south, hence the title of this work. Canto I: chacarera The chacarera is a folk dance from the north of Argentina, considered by many Argentineans to be a rural counterpart to the urban tango. At the beginning of the first 'canto', the rhythmic and melodic outline of a traditional chacarera is heard. After this initial presentation, a series of variations on the chacarera theme follows, developing this traditional folk dance in a new direction. My intention was not to create a new type of chacarera but to see where a chacarera may take me if I was prepared to transform its syntax and form beyond its original structure. Canto II: en la pampa inmensa (in the immense pampas) The slow, meditative melodic material that opens this second canto is not technically speaking based on Argentinean folk music. However, the spirit of this movement, the 'space' between slow phrases, its mood, was suggested to me by the immensity of the pampas, its emptiness, its silence. I was harmonically influenced by 'And then I knew t'was wind', by Toru Takemitsu. (see the next page for more information) Canto III: como danza callejera (like a street dance) This third canto also features dance music as its basic material. However, unlike in the first canto, the music presented here is based on a mixture of different Argentinean and Latin American dances rather than on a specific one. In the streets of Latin America, one type of dance may follow another one often blending, juxtaposing or transforming each other in the process. This is the type of interaction I sought to develop in this final movement. By combining these rhythms into a more complex structure I sought to create a developmental form which is not found in the popular culture from which these dance are taken. Alejandro Viñao - August 2019