PRELUDIO Y SON No.3, Op.32 (1990) 3 Preludio 4 Son
PRELUDIO Y SON No.1, Op.7 (1980) 5 Preludio 6 Son
SUITE PARA DOS GUITARRAS, Op.35 (1991-1992) 7 Preludio 8 Danza 9 Canción 10 Final
Dúo García de León-Mariña
Guitarra I / Guitar I: Fernando Mariña.
Guitarra II y artificios / Guitar II and devices: Ernesto García de León. Toda la música compuesta por / All music composed by Ernesto García de León.
Publicada por / Published by Michael Lorimer Editions (ASCAP), Collected Works, Volume 6, New York, USA. www. MichaelLorimer.com
Grabación en vivo / Live recording: Julio / July 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 - 2004.
Producción Ejecutiva / Executive Producers: Modesto López, Dúo García de León-Mariña.
Producción Artística / Artistic Production: Dúo García de León-Mariña.
Grabación / Recording: Guillermo Pous.
Edición y Masterización / Edition and Masterization: Carlos Rodríguez (Arpegio), Fernando Mariña.
Asesor de Edición / Edition Adviser: Ralph Telasco (Arpegio)
Diseño de Portada / Cover Design: Carlos García de León
Diseño / Design: Héctor Santos (Pentagrama)
Fotografía / Photograph: Carlos García de León.
Revisión de Textos / Text Revision: Abelardo Mariña Flores, Michael Lorimer.
Agradecimientos / Thanks to:
Tulio Dorado (Instituto Estatal de la Cultura de Guanajuato), Prof. Crescencio Acosta, Lic. Víctor Manuel Bravo, Prof. Isidoro Orozco, Araceli Mejía Piña, Prof. Andrés Lona (Pénjamo, Valle de Santiago, Casacuarán, Jerécuaro, Manuel Doblado, Guanajuato. México), Bruno López, Erika Rivera, Héctor Santos, Víctor Mariña, Víctor Pellegrini y grillos, campanas, pájaros, lluvia, niños y automóviles que enriquecen esta grabación / and crickets, bells, birds, rain, boys and cars that enrich this recording.
Gods from a contemporary jungle: Ernesto García de León.
Just for a moment, let's imagine a world without music. Impossible! Music exists even in the smallest things, in both the invisible and the ordinary forms of nature, the city and the jungle. All of a sudden, someone appears who transforms the world into a special mixture of joy, melancholy and the evocation of a delicate happiness. If music is compared to thought, Ernesto García de León is a philosopher of the basic material the world is made of - sound. Philosophy that very nearly touches the invisible gods of our time: the gentle gods of sadness, but not the sadness that comes from restlessness, rather the creative, infinite, and lucid sadness that possesses the artist; gods who hang our present by a thread and, in some way, determine our future.
García de León's music-his own interpretation of the personal and intensely sensitive space that surrounds him - brings the jungle to the city for us and takes us, somewhat involuntarily, to unknown and distant places which somehow become accessible, near, infinite, and happy.
Isn't this perhaps the goal of art: to present the non-existent as possible, to leave us an indelible trace so that we are never again the same? What but music can save us in these times that are so urgent, uncertain, and pressured? That which transports and elevates us out of the present space and time - briefly perhaps - to where nothing can touch us. There nothing can make us vulnerable or fragile in the boundless moment in which we realize, in which we recreate, in which we are, the home, the town, the city, the whole country, the world. From there arises this unique appreciation of the jungle and the joy of living blended into wild, maritime rhythms and harmonies- counterpoint of the sea's spirit, confidences of the lagoon and the mangrove forest.
*These notes came up because of a concert given November 9, 2003 by the García de León-Mariña Duet in the National Museum of Art in Mexico City, where only the music of Ernesto García de León was played. I, somehow, felt that I had to say something and, correspondingly, this is what appeared.
Brenda Ríos (Translated by Michael Lorimer)
I wrote these four pieces for two guitars, by commission, in the years between 1980 and 1992. The Preludio y Son No. 1, Op.7 (1980) was written for the Castañón-Bañuelos Duet, on the occasion of the Festival Hispano-Mexicano de Música Contemporánea, which took place in 1980, in Madrid, Spain, where it was premiered. This piece explores and exploits new colors on the instrument- unconventional sounds such as percussive taps to the guitar's body and fretboard and the noise caused by scratching the bass string windings. It gets its title and inspiration from the traditional Veracruz Son (Son Jarocho), and it features typical strains of this music - but filtered through harmonic and contrapuntal progressions that enrich the scope of sound and expression and draw on diverse idiomatic guitar resources. The Preludio y Son No. 2, Op. 30 (1989) was written for the Limón-Márquez Duet, on the occasion of the México. A Work of Art festival, which took place in New York City, USA, in 1990-1991. This piece is also based in the Veracruz Son. It keeps the character of the Preludio y Son No. 1, but makes use of the natural harmonics of the guitar creating a soft and delicate atmosphere. By using wide harmonies and more conventional tonal modulations, it takes us closer to tradition in a more direct way. The Preludio y Son No. 3, Op. 32 (1990) was written a year later than the No. 2, in 1990, on the occasion of the Festival Internacional Cervantino and was premiered in 1991 by the Miller-Laguna Duet, to whom it was written for. This piece is a polyrhythmic game using notes repetitively and a minimum of technical resources, situating itself in the minimalist mode. It is based in the Son Jarocho and keeps the shape of its two former sisters. The reiteration of a particular rhythmic scheme makes it susceptible for improvisation in a pleasant and natural manner, expanding its expressive and dynamic possibilities and suggesting us evocative and subtle jungle essences. The Suite para Dos Guitarras, Op. 35 (1991-1992) consists of four movements: Preludio, Danza, Canción and Final. It was written by commission of the Limón-Márquez Duet. This work finds its roots in the traditional music of my home State, Veracruz (rumba, cha-cha.chá, danzón, bolero, etc.), influenced by continuous contac with the Caribbean. The Preludio, which is a rumba, exposes the themes and materials that will be developed in the main course of the work. The Danza, which is a happy piece, proceeds of classic elements of cha-cha-chá, rumba and danzón. The Canción is a habanera, enriched with pandiatonic harmonies, natural harmonics, etc., that suggests us of ancient tropical songs that were once sung in distant beaches under whispering palm trees. The Final presents once again the themes and materials that have been developed and re-exposes them - as a rumba - in a renovated and conclusive mode, making this work a cyclical piece.
These recordings were taken from a concert tour in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico, on July 2004. The continuous invitations for improvisation that this music has, were accepted and accomplished in different parts in the course of the performances. I must say it has been quite enrichening to share this interpretative and creative experience with a musician like Fernando Mariña who, because of his high technical level and his very solid musical background, alongside with his intense imagination, makes any suggestion for improvisation easy, thus leading us to sonorous worlds in fact fascinating and fantastic.
Ernesto García de León Mexico City, September,2004. (Translated by Brenda Ríos)