Chamber Music

Although the character and musical intention are clearly different between the three, the links and cohesion are always the same musical references that are presented in infinite melodic and rhythmic forms, not at all as obvious as they may seem. The compositional work, precisely, has been focused on this end: continuous symbolism from a tireless game of variations and apparently familiar musical references. So much so that even the purest Spanish essence of the group par excellence, castiza and race, and that has represented them so much throughout the world, is also present from beginning to end. Not in vain, since their first recording more than thirty years ago, authors such as Manuel de Falla have impregnated Spanish Brass with an unmistakable sound and seal. ‘Camino’ ultimately tries to reflect an origin, an essence and a path (which does not stop) in the purest musical and personal style ‘Spanish Brass’.

Pass the brass is a reduced version adapted for brass quartet of ‘Stravaganza’, a double concerto for trumpet and bandoneon and symphonic band. This version is dedicated to the brass ensemble ‘Art of Brass Valencia’ who commissioned the author.

Pass the brass is a version focused on exploiting the possibilities of the trumpet, horn, tenor trombone and tuba to the maximum, without any fear or prejudice of being able to play a demanding role as other instruments play on countless other occasions. A paper to demonstrate the broad technical and musical spectrum in short, that these instruments can offer, all without losing sight of the unmistakable references that have traditionally nurtured the most representative music of the southern cone of the South American continent and that are present from the beginning. to end in the work: recognizable melodies, rhythmic sequences and southern essence.

Work commission for the Instituto Valenciano de la Música/CulturArts in 2013. “Contrasts” is a piece written in two movements for a metal quintet and also incorporates the “flamenco box” in the second of them, as simple instrumental and rhythmic support without leaving aside the main protagonism that throughout the piece concentrates in the brass quintet.

The first of the movements, “Largo for a movie”, is inspired by the music of cinema given the relationship that the author has developed in this field in some of his works. A small and melancholy crossing that from the beginning little by little is taking more force until arriving at the parliament only of the trombone. Just as a film sequence could develop. The second movement, “Allegro for all”, is the opposite of the first. Almost without any connection to the first, it develops with much more rhythm, strength and vigor. Also, the precision of each voice and the rhythmic support of the “flamenco box” make the music flow more directly to the listener especially in the last part of the work where now, the metals can bring out all their innate majesty .

For a group of ten brass instruments: four trumpets in Sib, piccolo, three tenor trombones, bass trombone, trumpet and tuba. The piece is divided into three movements: Napolitano, In memoriam and Aureo. As if of a great “collage” this piece tries to collect different compositional resources that originate different sensations, from the most eclectic to the most expressive.

Dedicated to the group “Collage Brass Ensemble” and in posthumous tribute to trumpeter Juan García Marín, sadly disappeared. Released by the same group “Collage Brass Ensemble” in October 2009 at Teatro Chapí de Villena.

The ‘Quinteto y las Sillas’ (The Quintet and the Chairs) is a diptych written in 2010 for two trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba and percussion (three chairs). Written in co-authorship with Frank J. Cogollos. Inspired by the painting of the same name by the Valencian painter José Segrelles in commemoration of the 125th anniversary of his birth.

Premiered in September 2010 in the Concert-Homage to the painter. As in Segrelles’s painting, the work is structured with two movements that are born from the two main elements that are extracted from the same title: the chairs and The quintet, in this case a classical quintet of metals. As a characteristic note it should be noted that in the first movement three chairs of different styles are used as percussion instruments: a wooden chair, a metal chair and a study chair.

Re-flect is a proposal for four percussionists in which the acoustic and spatial factor is very important. The title of the work is the key to understanding these aspects and also how most of the musical discourse is fed. Re-flect means reflection, and in this sense the work is built from an axis of symmetry on which the first two percussionists reflect on the third and fourth respectively in terms of rhythms and sounds. Also, taking the title as a reference, the importance of the only tuned sound in the entire work is very evident: the RE note. From this sound, and only with this sound of a certain height, a sound game with different heights is created that is intended to envelop the stage. Last but not least, the two letters RE, have an important personal meaning for the author: the work is dedicated to Esaú Borredá (Madrid Symphony Orchestra soloist) and Raúl Benavent (RTVE Orchestra soloist), friends of the author. The game with the two initials of their names (RE) is evident. Subtlety, precision and strength are the three qualities of these great musicians that they try to reflect in the work.

Percussion 1: crotale: Re high pitch, bass drum, 3 tom-toms* (high, medium, low), snare drum, bongos, one cymbal 14″ above the snare drum.

Percussion 2: crotale: Re (medium pitch), 3 tom-toms* (high, medium, low), hi-hat, snare drum, splash cymbal, bongos, medium wooden tom-tom, one cymbal 14″ above the snare drum.

Percussion 3: crotale: Re (low pitch), 1 semiresonat metal (cue anvil), 3 tom-toms* (high, medium, low), hi-hat, china cymbal, snare drum, one cymbal 14″ above the snare drum, low wooden tom-tom, jam block medium (or medium wood).

Percussion 4: tubular bell: Re, 3 tom-toms* (high, medium, low), bass drum, bongos, metal guiro, crotale: Re, one cymbal 14″ above the snare drum, jam block low (or low wood).

* Observations. It is important to differentiate the tuning of each player’s tom-toms differently between them. In the second movement, percussion 4 needs a string bow to rub with the crotale (re). It is important to differentiate the use of different drumsticks between the parts of the work. Especially in the first and third part, it is convenient to use drumsticks with the ball with a larger diameter, preferably made of wood.

Triptych by clarinet quartet (Bb clarinets, bass clarinet, Eb clarinet and corno di basseto). Released in September 2009 within the XXV Festival of Contemporary Music of Alicante by the quartet of clarinets “A Tempo”.

From the theory about the Fibonacci series, this triptych is built for quartet of clarinets where this numerical series is also used to construct two types of scales: one parallel and the other symmetrical. These scales are born from the same series Fibonacci from the addition of semitones and later are also used to form a twelve-tone series with some of its variants.
The names of each movement come from three of the characters who used the named proportion as previously mentioned: Leonardo da Vinci (Vinciniana), Luca Pacioli (Paciolina) and Bela Bartok (Bartokiana).