JUAN PABLO CONTRERAS SILENCIO EN JUÁREZ CLAREMONT AVENUE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA KRISTI SHADE | KYLE RITENAUER JUAN PABLO CONTRERAS SILENCIO EN JUÁREZ Silencio en Juárez (2011) for Violin, Clarinet, Violoncello, and Piano 1 I. Madre Dolorosa 6:38 2 II. Corrido 3:59 3 III.Liturgia 4:47 4 IV. La Injusticia 6:26 Tema Watstein, violin Camila Barrientos, clarinet Benjamin Larsen, violoncello Erika Dohi, piano La más Remota Prehistoria (2012) for Tenor and Chamber Orchesra (Text: Darío Carrillo) 5 I. 2:57 6 II. 2:52 7 III. 1:34 8 IV. 3:42 Juan Pablo Contreras, tenor Claremont Avenue Chamber Orchesta Kyle Ritenauer, conductor Ángel Mestizo (2013) Concerto for Harp and Chamber Orchestra 9 I. La Conquista 7:43 10 II. Veracruz 5:32 11 III.Cadenza Criolla 3:11 12 IV. Son Jarocho 5:12 Kristi Shade, harp Claremont Avenue Chamber Orchestra Kyle Ritenauer, conductor 1 JUAN PABLO CONTRERAS | SILENCIO EN JUÁREZ Over the past few years, my music has been largely focused on the concept of The narrator compares the river that flows at the bottom of the canyon to the identity. I have been exploring what it means to be a Mexican classical music com- stream of love that emanated in the relationship. The erupting volcano embodies poser in the twenty-first century. This CD exemplifies my quest to establish a new the outburst of rage caused by its dissolution. His passionate feelings slowly fos- synthesis of classical contemporary music and Mexican popular and folk music. silize, making the relationship feel as if it belongs to a prehistoric time. The works in the album address issues that are sensitive in my native country and The term “mestizo” is traditionally used to classify a person of mixed-race de- speak about themes of universal interest — aspiring to communicate deeply with scent. The majority of Mexicans are mestizos of Spanish and indigenous heritage. listeners worldwide. Ángel Mestizo (Mestizo Angel), a concerto for harp and chamber orchestra, is an On November 23, 2010, fifteen teenagers were brutally murdered at a birthday imaginary journey of the harp’s migration to Mexico during the Spanish conquest party in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The inspiration for Silencio en Juárez (Silence in and its evolution to become one of the most iconic instruments in the country. Juárez) came from this tragic event. The first movement, “Madre Dolorosa” (“Sor- The concerto is cast in four movements. The first movement, “La Conquista” rowful Mother”), is written from the perspective of one of the mothers who lost her (“The Conquest”), narrates the onset of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The move- child in the massacre. The movement is a musical portrait of the Stabat Mater Do- ment is driven by sounds of gunshots and galloping horses. Historians believe the lorosa Catholic hymn that meditates on the suffering of Mary during Jesus Christ’s Spaniards first brought the harp to Veracruz, a major port on the Gulf of Mexico. crucifixion. “Veracruz,” the second movement, depicts the harp’s arrival in this beautiful city. The second movement is a sarcastic setting of a corrido, a traditional genre The word “criollo” was first coined to label a person of Spanish ancestry born from northern Mexico that is driven by an accordion-based polka and praises local in Mexico. The third movement, “Cadenza Criolla,” is scored for solo harp. The drug criminals. “Corrido” musically portrays a recollection of memories from one cadenza incorporates thematic ideas from the previous movements and outlines of the witnesses to the killings. A folk tune is interlaced among flashbacks of gun- the evolution of the harp in Mexico. What had been an exclusively European instru- shots and desperate cries for help. ment was slowly appropriated by Mexican musicians and eventually became a folk “Liturgia” (“Liturgy”), the third movement, evokes a Catholic mass. The intro- instrument. ductory church bells in the piano lead to the priest’s recitation of the Eucharistic The finale, “Son Jarocho,” celebrates the mestizo culture that predominates in Prayer, heard in the opening violoncello line. Afterward, the clarinet, violin, and modern Mexico. The son jarocho is a regional folk music style that originated in Ve- violoncello each offer eulogies to the victims of the tragedy. racruz as the indigenous and Spanish communities mixed. A diatonic harp, the arpa The finale, “La Injusticia” (“The Injustice”), is a crude reflection of the real- jarocha, is one of the main instruments in this genre. “Son Jarocho” revolves around ity that Mexico is facing. Acts of violence are regular occurrences throughout the a festive theme that is introduced by a solo violin in the opening of the movement. country, while citizens pray for a season of peace. Toward the end of the movement, The concerto concludes in an uplifting tone praising the product of the blending of the victims are lovingly remembered in a lyrical and nostalgic passage. This music the Spanish and indigenous people: the mestizo angels. eventually transports us back to reality, a reality assuring us that if murders con- tinue at this rate, there will be nothing left but an eternal Silence in Juárez. —Juan Pablo Contreras La más Remota Prehistoria (The Most Remote Prehistory) is a song cycle, with poetry by Darío Carrillo, that deals with emotional rupture. The narrator in the poems makes a pilgrimage to a canyon where he had spent time with his lost love. Each of the four songs represent a different stage in his grieving process. 2 3 JUAN PABLO CONTRERAS, COMPOSER Juan Pablo Contreras (b. 1987 in Guadalajara, Mexico) is “one of the most promi- nent young composers of Latin America” (Milenio). His music “masterfully portrays the Mexican identity and is colorfully orchestrated, emotionally intense, and rhyth- mically vibrant” (El Informador). Contreras’ music has been heard throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America. His works have been performed by major orchestras such as the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, the Salta Symphony Orchestra, and the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra. His music has also been championed by the Onix Ensamble, the North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra, the Ensamble Tamayo, the For- malist Quartet, the SequenzaSUR, and the Inauthentica Ensemble. Contreras has won awards and grants including the BMI William Schuman Prize, the Arturo Márquez First Composition Contest for Chamber Orchestra, the Brian M. Israel Prize, the Dutch Harp Composition Contest, the EtM Con Edison Composers’ Residency, the Nicolas Flagello Award from the Manhattan School of Music, and the Mexican Endowment for the Arts and Culture Young Artist Fellowship. He has served as composer-in-residence at the Turtle Bay Music School and the Concerts on the Slope chamber music series in New York. Contreras holds degrees in composition from the Manhattan School of Music (M.M.) and the California Institute of the Arts (B.F.A.). His most influential teach- ers include Nils Vigeland, Daniel Catán, and Richard Danielpour. Contreras’ music has been recorded on Epsa Music and Albany Records. www.juanpablocontreras.com 5 KRISTI SHADE, HARP CLAREMONT AVENUE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Kristi Shade is one of the most sought-after harpists of her generation. She is Juan Pablo Contreras founded the Claremont Avenue Chamber Orchestra ( C AC O ) the Principal Harpist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, with which she has in 2012 with the purpose of creating a dynamic ensemble of musicians to perform recorded three albums on the Naxos label. Shade is a founding member of the harp his music in prestigious venues in New York City. The successful collaboration be- duo, Duo Scorpio, whose debut album, Scorpion Tales, was released in 2012 on the tween the composer and CACO led to the recording of the album Silencio en Juárez, American Modern Recordings label. The album was included on the 2012 GRAMMY featuring award-winning works by Contreras. The orchestra is comprised of gifted nomination ballot in three separate categories. Shade has been a guest artist with musicians from the United States and abroad. Members of CACO frequently perform the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, and the with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Albany Symphony Orchestra. She has been featured as a concerto soloist with Orchestra of New York. the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, the Ensemble 212, and the Astoria Symphony Orchestra. Shade holds degrees from the University of Miami and the Manhattan School of Music, where she is on faculty in the Precollege Division. www.kristishade.com KYLE RITENAUER, CONDUCTOR Kyle Ritenauer is an avid conductor of contemporary music. In the past few years, he has premiered more than thirty works by New York-based composers. In 2013, Ritenauer made his opera debut leading the filming of the new opera Cities of Salt b y Syrian composer Zaid Jabri. Ritenauer frequently conducts the Nouveau Classical Project and the Claremont Avenue Chamber Orchestra. Currently, he serves as As- sistant Conductor to Jeffrey Milarsky and David Gilbert for the Percussion Ensem- ble and Student Composers’ Orchestra of the Manhattan School of Music. Ritenauer holds degrees in conducting and percussion from the Manhattan School of Music. 6 7 La más Remota Prehistoria The Most Remote Prehistory I I III III 5 Presencia tu calor, se ha vuelto frío Sense your warmth, it has become cold 7 A torrentes cubierto en sedimentos Over sediment-covered torrents espacio disputado por la sombra space disputed by the blue edifico de roca la envoltura I build on stone the gray-and-blue wrapping azul, entre los pliegues de la roca, shadow, between the rock folds, gris-azul por el verde que me inunda by the green that floods me y tenue inspiración con la que escribo.