(2020) Tríptico  

Duration: 12 minutes | Commissioned by Amalia Tortajada & Andrea González Caballero

Program Notes

Tríptico (Triptych) is a three-movement suite commissioned by flutist Amalia Tortajada and guitarist Andrea González Caballero, inspired by popular Brazilian rhythmic concepts such as frevo, choro, and canção. The first movement, “Espirais” (Spirals), alludes to frevo’s vibrant musical style. Contrastingly, the second movement, “Um lugar Sereno,” (A Quiet Place), is a soothing, simple song.  The final movement, “Rio, 1991 is the development of an eight-measure choro melody that I composed while still an adolescent living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which I never finished.  Thanks to the incentive of Amalia and Andrea, the choros is now completed. Their musicianship and excitement for this project motivated me to travel back in time and rescue some of my fondest and oldest memories of my native country.