Abat Jour Mediterraneo – for guitar quintet (PDF)

Description

Abat-Jour Mediterraneo is a composition made of, real or perceived, contrasts between different cultural influences, contexts and musical traditions.

Classical Guitar has a wonderful history especially when we think of the cultural exchanges that led to the creation of an instrument whose sound is able to touch so deeply. My reflection on this led me to the era during which the guitar’s grandfather, the Arabic instrument called oud crossed the Mediterranean Sea in the 8^th Century. This had a tremendous influence on European music and culture.  This imagery strongly influenced the composition of Abat-Jour Mediterraneo. Hence, the piece is all about cultural and musical cross-pollination.

The first movement, that gives the name to the miniature set, was inspired by the image of a lampshade (abat-jour) lying on a Mediterranean beach. Imagining this familiar object in this peculiar juxtaposition creates a sense of contrast. This contrast permeates the whole piece and it is reflected throughout the different sections and voices of the movement.

A rhythmic pattern obsessively repeated in the key of E gives the name to E-bsession, the second movement. This movement is clearly influenced by my penchant for rock music. In the second part of the piece, we can recognise a theme borrowed from the first movement. This theme, inserted in a different rhythmical and harmonic context is also a reference to the themes of connections, merging and change.

Bachiana is an intermezzo, the slow relaxed movement of the miniature set. It’s a homage to Bach’s compositional style (but also a reference to all the “bachianas” composed in Spanish speaking countries). A theme developed in a familiar contrapunctal theme emerges from scraping effects. This speaks to my original trope of contamination and contrast.

The Adagio Ingannevole (misleading adagio) starts at an adagio (slow) speed but that is misleading. As the movement develops, without a change in metronome it becomes much more dynamic.  Towards the end of the piece the guitars bid their farewell gradually.