Inspiration
I.
Inspired by a trip to the Picasso Museum in Paris and the gift of a collection of Neruda’s poems, ‘Toros’ is a Percussion Concerto based on the lives and works of Pablo Picasso and Pablo Neruda, two cultural icons of the 20th Century.
The first movement ‘Corrida: La Mort du Torero’ is based on Picasso’s painting of the same name. The movement starts with the city of Malaga, Picasso’s hometown, waking up to the sound of the cathedral’s bells and an overture-like refrain from the strings. We then are transported to the bullring with the soloist portraying the Toreador and the orchestra, the bull, as they dance around each other and ultimately fight to the death.
II.
The second movement is more reflective in its nature mirroring the poem on which it’s based - ‘Sitú me Olvidas (If You Forget Me).’ The lush strings and searching melodies on the vibraphone are inspired by arrangements of the 1950s alongside moments of tonal ‘mist’ which illustrate the uncertainty and duality from the poem’s narrator.
III.
III. ‘La Femme aux des’ is a musical reflection of the second of Picasso’s paintings with Jacqueline characterised as the Queen of risk. The illusion of a constant change in meter represents the numbers in a deck of cards and the duos between the trumpet (The King), Cello (The Queen), Clarinet (Joker), Violin (Jack) and the soloist further expand on this playful concept.
IV.
Sketches of Spain, the seminal album by Gil Evans and Miles Davis form the inspiration for IV. ‘Ya se fue la ciudad (And the City Now is Gone)’. Neruda’s dystopian rhetoric is echoed by the close 1920s-like harmony from the orchestra and soloist with a ticking clock giving the illusion of passing time. The movement ends with the audience plunged into purgatory, a sense of nothingness with more questions than answers.
V. ‘Finale’ is based on the last poem found on Neruda’s desk and the self-portrait ‘Self Portrait facing death’ by Picasso. There is a child-like quality to the painting mirrored by the vibraphone as well as an urgent rhythm played by hands and brushes on the drums by the soloist, representing the correspondence between the two men. They both died in 1973 and this is a reflection of their lives, their experience and their legacy.
“The world is bluer and of the earth at night, when I sleep enormous, within your small hands.”
V.
