Rejas

Rejas is part of the cycle of pieces for saxophones, Intenciones íntimas del aire. The piece is dedicated to Lumina Ensemble.

Intenciones íntimas del aire (2024)
ca. 21 minutes

Commissioned by Lumina Ensemble, to whom it is dedicated.

I am intrigued by various aspects of Eusebio Sempere's work: his changing forms, pictorial kineticism, Gestalt approaches, and especially his rotating sculptures.
The subtle color gradations based on small structures (often blue, ochres, and gray) find a musical counterpart for me in the elaboration and slight timbral (color) degradations of a sonic discourse.
The geometric forms, the sense of movement, and the optical illusions through which Sempere develops a poetics of singular beauty, in sonic terms, inspire textural treatments of musical dramaturgy through the exploration of instrumental densities. Sound planes and other parameters can evoke auditory illusions within a three-dimensional framework. It is awe-inspiring how Sempere achieves a marvelous fullness of light and movement through the three-dimensionality of objects.
The luminous reliefs generated by the metal base modules he presents to the viewer create a play of combinations multiplied by the light's reflection on the metal and the shadows cast by the columns.
The geometric forms (of iron or chromed steel) arranged in orderly groups or suspended in the air, as if expanding through reflected light, provide us with mobile effects that amplify the poetic sensation. The mobiles, with their rotations and pendular oscillations, create crossings of lines or spiral movements, transcending circular motion through an optical effect. From the line—pure in its stroke and treatment of color, as the foundation of geometry—to lines intertwining and giving rise to new, unpredictable shapes. From figuration to abstraction, there are numerous parallels with any sonic discourse.
Starting from shared concepts between two seemingly distant artistic disciplines, I attempt—without wishing to appear pretentious—to generate a musical dramaturgy that invites the listener to savor a tiny sample of the infinite (visual) sonic universe of saxophones. This draws parallels with the intrinsic characteristics of Eusebio Sempere's work, not as a literal interpretation, but as a source of inspiration that, in the final sonic result, may differ entirely from its initial stimulus.
The titles of the pieces in the cycle—Rejas, Geometrías líricas, Campo cerrado I, Campo cerrado II and Columnas—reference various interpretations that curators or art experts have used to describe Eusebio Sempere's work.
Rejas: Saxophone quartet
Geometrías líricas: Baritone saxophone
Campo cerrado I: Soprano saxophone
Campo cerrado II: Baritone saxophone duo
Columnas: Saxophone quartet

The pieces can be performed independently.