NOTES
El ANSIA - 1997, rearranged 2016
Originally written for string quartet, this is a new version adapted for saxophone quartet and piano. The title comes from the Spanish translation of the title of the film “The Hunger” by director Tony Scott. Night, darkness, blood, vampires, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve in a totally 80’s style danse macabre. And a very young Peter Murphy in a cage singing “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”
LA CANDESAURIA - 2009
First piece written after my return to Mexico after 14 years in Europe, commissioned by the “Tempus Fugit Ensemble”. The title comes from a mix of words of the neighborhood I was living in at that time “La Candelaria”, and some stories and people I would rather forget.
PENGAMAT BULAN - 2013
In Indonesian- Man contemplating the moon
Originally this work was commissioned by the Ensamble Tamayo as homage to the Mexican painter and sculptor Rufino Tamayo and is based on the painting “Hombre contemplando la luna” (Man contemplating the moon). I wanted to reflect the magic of this painting looking for a balance between nostalgia, contemplation and introspection, but with a playful and innocent touch that reminds us of our childhood imaginations of looking at the moon and inventing fantastic stories.
EXOESQUELETO - 2014
This piece was commissioned by the Saxophone Orchestra of Costa Rica together with the soloist Sofía Zumbado. The title means “external skeleton” and I chose it after a concert with Sofia (sax player of my ensemble Mal’Akh) where she wore a gigantic harness to support her baritone which looked like a sci-fi alien-like skeleton. At the end I wrote the solo part for alto but with that image in my head during all the composition process.
MANIQUÍ - 1996
This is the first piece I wrote when I arrived to study at the Rotterdam Conservatory in The Netherlands. It was never played again after its premiere in a student recital at the conservatory that same year. I want to thank the players of this piece, Ismael and Abdel, for talking me into taking it out of the drawer, blow away the dust and bring it back to life. Based on the super psychotic poem by my great friend Luis Lepine.
HOSPITAL SUITE - 2012
This composition was written thanks to a grant by the National Fund for Culture and Arts, Mexico (FONCA) through their National System of Art Creators program. The curious title of the work and its movements comes from a period where my mother and my ex girlfriend were -at the same time- convalescent in a hospital. The words come from medical terms I heard from the doctors about their sicknesses and treatments. Fortunately they both came out perfectly healthy, but the eternal hours I spent at the hospital (in their respective suites) I used them to actually write the piece.
MAL TIMING - 2010
Piece commissioned by the “Ensamble Nuevo de México” for a program of miniatures to show the variety of Mexican composers and their styles. Besides the formation of the ensemble: flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano, I asked the percussion player to do a “flamenco bailaor” part with claps and foot stamping. He did great…
EL ANSIA (Bonus Track) - 1997
The original version of the first piece. Written for String Quartet. Recorded by the Apeiron Quartet during an exchange program I did as a student at the Krakow Academy of Music in Poland. All the vampire stuff mentioned in track 1 obviously applies.
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