By HRJ
What does contemporary Mexican classical music sound like? Who are the people who create it? What are their thoughts and languages? What does their art and sound narratives sound like? How were they conceived and structured? How do they distribute their imagination through an orchestra?
With the intention of offering an overview of the current creation of Mexican classical music, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería has taken on the task of interviewing a composer each month to talk about his or her latest work for orchestra.
In this second installment we present Brief Shadows (2022) by the Mexican composer Ana Laraa symphonic work whose original idea was to be premiered in 2020 alongside Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the German composer. The project was postponed because of the pandemic and the Brief Shadows was premiered two years later: on November 19, 2022 at the Nezahualcóyotl Concert Hall with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
How would you describe the sound of Breves sombras?
I think it is a piece rich in contrasts. Like much of my music, it is a coloristic and textural work.
How is it structured, how is it close to Beethoven's Eighth, why is it called Brief Shadows?
It is a short piece in one movement. My idea was to take some characteristics of the Eighth Symphony and integrate them into the piece. They are not quotes, but rather references to some of the characteristics of the work: abrupt changes of dynamics and harmony, a constant energy, some melodic turns in the double basses... Hence its title: Brief Shadows... the shadows come precisely from Beethoven's Symphony No. 8.
In this work do you establish specific research with the sonic possibilities of certain instruments?
Part of the challenge of writing this work was to use the same orchestra that Beethoven used in his Eighth Symphony. It is a small orchestra, without trombones or tuba and as percussion only the timpani used in a very similar way as Beethoven would do, except for one passage where I put a cymbal over the timpani to create a more textural sound effect. I was interested in showing how the same orchestra can sound so different depending on the language used.
Could you describe a passage within the work that generates special interest for you?
I like the beginning. It starts with a very rhythmic timpani and we hear a crescendo both instrumentally and dynamically in the strings. There are other significant passages, like the first violin solo. But I think the most interesting thing about the piece is that it is full of surprises.
What was the writing process like?
It was very stimulating because I first analyzed Beethoven's symphony to find what elements I could integrate into my piece and, above all, to find the same energy that exists in that symphony.
Where are you in your musical career?
I think it's a good time. After so many years of work, I have not lost the desire to renew myself, to study and try new things. A couple of years ago I started studying SuperCollider to compose acousmatic and electroacoustic music, which has opened me to other fascinating sound universes. I have many musical projects, but also other projects, like my radio show: Hacia una nueva música on Radio UNAM; the digital magazine Sonus Litterarum and other things that are being prepared.
What are your musical commitments for the rest of 2023?
At the moment I have several commissions: a duo for flutes and video in collaboration with the French/Mexican artist Daniela Prost; a saxophone quartet for Sygma Project, an orchestral work about a Mexican surrealist artist, continuing to make computer music, a violin solo for Irvine Arditti and whatever else accumulates...
In terms of concerts abroad: my piece Angels of flame and ice is 30 years old. I think it is one of my most performed orchestral works and in April it will be performed by the Portland Orchestra in the United States. In addition to chamber concerts in France and Mexico.
