Charlas (Chats)

Score (PDF) available on this website € 25,-

In the spring of 2015 I was approached by James Barger, a young American saxophonist, member of both the Mirasol Quartet and the Mirasol Duo, if I would be interested in writing a saxophone duo for him and his colleague Ben Still to be premiered at the 2016 NASA Biennial Conference. The request came a moment of both professional and personal problems and in a way, together with some other commissions that I received later that spring, it served as a sort of catalyzer, leading to the decision to focus more on composing. 

Ben & James sought the collaboration of many colleagues to support their commission and so ‘Charlas’  became my first ‘consortium’ commissioned work. I am very grateful to all these dedicated colleagues.

Charlas (Chats) is a 5 movement suite, with every movement depicting a very different type of chat: I tried to get the most out of this duo setting, this encounter of two persons, two characters. A very human setting indeed, that of dialogue. 

The first Charla, confundida (confused), is quite virtuoso and hectic, rhythmically complicated. Both players find themselves locked up in a four-note chromatical motive and try to escape from it to reach out to the other.

The second, acogedora (welcoming), is of a completely different nature, gentle and singing, lovely and friendly. 

The third, salvaje (wild), is hectic and crazy like the first movement but very differently so, funny and very playful, like two young kids romping out of joy.

The fourth, sigilosa (secretive), is another intimate encounter and talks about the very human necessity of exchanging secrets, or at a more ordinary level gossip…

The suite ends with the Charla feroz (fierce). A ferocity that does not lead to aggression or destruction, but rather raises energy and joy. Albeit on the rough side now and then…

Lately Charlas have been recorded by two PhD students at Iowa University (studying with Prof. Kenneth Tse): Elissa Kana and John Cummins. Elissa did her PhD on my music for saxophone and recorded a lot of my work and fantastically so…. Three of these recordings included in the audio section.