(2023) ANAHATA

ANAHATA: Concerto for Classical Guitar, Violoncello and Orchestra
Commissioned by the Hartford Symphony for Boyd Meets Girl

Mov. I: The Color Green | Mov. II: Desert Roses | Mov. III: Full Circle Reel

Anahata, meaning “unhurt” or “unstricken” in Sanskrit, refers to the core heart chakra in yogic ideas—a psychic hub governing our ability for kindness, calmness, and deep human closeness. As cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd first imagined this joint piece with me, “love” emerged as our luminous inspiration, reflecting their connected lives as artistic and romantic partners.

This concerto for cello and classical guitar stands as a musical reflection on the complex nature of love. Its three linked movements explore love’s opposites, interweaving tense passages evoking love’s wounds and melodious harmonies voicing its most precious dreams. It traces an abstract romantic arc without literal storytelling; Anahata’s central theme indirectly resonates with the duo’s creative chemistry and personal bond. It merges with echoes emerging from my memories, threads of influence from my childhood in Brazil and adolescence in France. These personal ancestral ornamental details form this fabric of sound.

Yet beyond the inspiring backstory, at its essence, Anahata translates love’s vibrant, unblocked flow into fluid music spanning from heartache to delight. Just as ancient maps of yoga chart the heart chakra as a fountain of vitality infusing existence, these notes seek to give winged voice and motion to the spectrum of loving emotions that connect us across barriers through realms of understanding rarely put into words but deeply sensed.