Oracíon del Bosque (2013)
[SCORE] | [Soundcloud]
Instrumentation
string orchestra with percussion
Duration: 5' 50"
Performers
SFCM New Music Ensemble | Jacques Desjardins, Conductor
Pefromances:
San Francisco Conservatory of Music 11/2013
Program Note [Spanish]
In Totonac myth there exists a forest deep in the heart of Mexico where one
can find the heartbeat of the world. In the highest tree among the birds the gods bless the forest. The trees, sway back and forth praying for the fertility of the earth.
Oración del Bosque, translates to Prayer of the Forest. The many voices of the forest sing the same prayer but rarely on the same word. There is no revelation to be heard just a simple prayer. The only creatures that lay witness to this act are the birds high above the trees.
On Writing this Piece
The idea for Oracíon came from the memory of the Mexican tradition of the Posada. Every year near christmas time throughout mexico communities re-enact Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. From December 16th to the 24th a community will travel from home to home each night asking for sanctuary. This is followed by a session of prayer and a meal for all those in attendance.
Every year my mother hosted a posada. During the prayer session everyone would pray out loud. Although everyone was saying the exact same words, no one would speak them with the same speed or the same intensity. When I envisioned a forest of trees praying I came back to this memory. Each section of the strings plays the same rhythmic figure over the same notes, but not at the same speed. The intensity of each individual line shifts creating a texture where voices weave in and out of each other.
Instrumentation
string orchestra with percussion
Duration: 5' 50"
Performers
SFCM New Music Ensemble | Jacques Desjardins, Conductor
Pefromances:
San Francisco Conservatory of Music 11/2013
Program Note [Spanish]
In Totonac myth there exists a forest deep in the heart of Mexico where one
can find the heartbeat of the world. In the highest tree among the birds the gods bless the forest. The trees, sway back and forth praying for the fertility of the earth.
Oración del Bosque, translates to Prayer of the Forest. The many voices of the forest sing the same prayer but rarely on the same word. There is no revelation to be heard just a simple prayer. The only creatures that lay witness to this act are the birds high above the trees.
On Writing this Piece
The idea for Oracíon came from the memory of the Mexican tradition of the Posada. Every year near christmas time throughout mexico communities re-enact Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. From December 16th to the 24th a community will travel from home to home each night asking for sanctuary. This is followed by a session of prayer and a meal for all those in attendance.
Every year my mother hosted a posada. During the prayer session everyone would pray out loud. Although everyone was saying the exact same words, no one would speak them with the same speed or the same intensity. When I envisioned a forest of trees praying I came back to this memory. Each section of the strings plays the same rhythmic figure over the same notes, but not at the same speed. The intensity of each individual line shifts creating a texture where voices weave in and out of each other.