Blas Emilio Atehortúa’s Concerto for Oboe and Double String Orchestra, op. 207 (2000) and Bicinium VII for Oboe and Piano, op. 197 (1998) by Pablo Alejandro Moreno Holguín A thesis submitted to the Moores School of Music, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Oboe Performance Chair of Committee: Dr. John Snyder Committee Member: Professor Jonathan Fischer Committee Member: Dr. Matthew Dirst Committee Member: Dr. Tracy Russell Committee Member: Professor Elise Wagner University of Houston December 2020 i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Blas Emilio Atehortúa’s family for helping me to get the scores, for transcribing conversations with Atehortúa and for being so supportive during the process of the production of this text. There have been so many people that had helped me to finish this degree and all of the education I have gotten in the United States. I am incredibly thankful for my husband Zachary Gresham, his parents and our cat PepperCat for being so patient with me and for being able to give me so much love during many stressful moments. This document was possible with the help of the committee members and Dr. Snyder who showed immense patience with me during the entire process. Thank you to my oboe teacher at UH, Jonathan Fischer, who has been an incredible support as a mentor and as a friend. I’m humble for the trust, love and support that Tracy Russell, my first oboe teacher and her husband, Bernardo Useche, gave me during my childhood, making me part of their family and for helping me to become a musician and the person I am today. I thank my mother, Marillac Holguín, for all of her endless work, sacrifices and support when I started studying the oboe. My deep appreciation also goes to Magdalena Granés and her family for helping me to continue my music education in Bogotá, Colombia. As well, I want to express my gratitude to the Towne family (Mrs. Ann, Mr. William, Sam and Rachel) for making me part of their life, for letting me experience so much love, care and understanding. I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from Robert Walters and to become a friend and part of his family. His trust towards me guided me to the University of Houston. Thank you to the University of Houston for giving me the support to keep achieving my academic goals. I’m grateful for the city of Houston and for all of the friends and family I ii have made here: Jennifer and Adrian Lenardic, Nick Short and Ivan Marin, Gonzalo Estrada IV, Andrew Glenn, Andrew Mercer, Andrés Rodríguez, Ars Lyrica of Houston and the Bach Society of Houston. I feel grateful and thankful for all of my oboe teachers: Alex Klein, Eugene Izotov and Kathryn Montoya. Without their help I wouldn’t be the person and musician I am today. iii ABSTRACT Blas Emilio Atehortúa (1943-2020) is one of Colombia’s most significant composers and one of the most important contemporary composers in Latin America. Outside of South America, however, he has received little recognition, and most of his pieces remain unpublished. His extensive catalogue includes vocal music, orchestral pieces, music for wind ensembles, concertos, as well as experimental works. The goal of this study is to examine his Concerto for Oboe and Double String Orchestra, op. 207 (2000) and Bicinium VII for Oboe and Piano, op. 197 (1998) in order to demonstrate how the composer helped to shape the new voice of art music in Colombia and Latin America. Using information from a series of conversations with the composer, interviews with several performers, examination of Atehortúa’s essay about his approach to new music and the relationship between performer and composer, and an analysis of Bicinium VII, and Oboe Concerto and Double Orchestra, I argue that these works represent a new identity of art music in Colombia that is composed of various elements from different music styles. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................... ii ABSTRACT...................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................... vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ............................................... vii INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1 Previous research on Atehortúa .............................................. 3 BIOGRAPHY ..................................................................... 5 ATEHORTÚA AND HIS TIME AT THE CENTRO LATINOAMERICANO DE ALTOS ESTUDIOS MUSICALES (CLAEM) .......................... 8 ATEHORTÚA AND HIS STYLE ................................................ 10 BICINIUM FOR OBOE AND PIANO, OP. 197, (1998) AND CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND DOUBLE STRING ORCHESTRA, OP. 207 (2000) ........................ 14 STUDY OF CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND DOUBLE STRING ORCHESTRA, OP. 207 (2000) ........................ 18 I. Monólogo ................................................................. 18 II. Sonatina ................................................................... 26 III. Scherzino-Bambuco ........................................................ 30 IV. Meditación ................................................................ 37 V. Rítmica (Tocatta) .......................................................... 44 CONCLUSION .................................................................. 49 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................ 51 v LIST OF TABLES 1. Subsets and Supersets ...................................................... 45 vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES 1. Atehortúa, Concerto for Oboe and double string orchestra, op 207, movt. I, Monólogo. System 1. Two components of the Subject .......................................... 19 2. System 1. Segment of the subject with pitch class (4-3) and intervals ............... 20 3. System 2. Subject with intervallic augmentation .................................. 21 4. Systems 1-3. Two ideas of the subject developed .................................. 22 5. Systems 1 and 4 comparison of subject ........................................... 23 6. Systems 4-8. Three components used in the piece. Repetition, repetition and melodic development, subject-Arpeggio .................................................... 24 7. Systems 8-10. Subject repeated with antecedent and consequent ................... 26 8. Atehortúa, Concerto for Oboe and double string orchestra,op. 207, movt. II, Sonatina. Octatonic Scale OCT 1,2 and mm. 3 Diminished Chord .............................. 27 9. Mm. 6 and 12 relationships ...................................................... 29 10. Atehortúa, Concerto for Oboe and double string orchestra, op.207, movt. III, Scherzino-Bambuco. Mm. 1-5. Diminished chord (F-A-C-Eb) ....................... 31 11. Mm. 13 D harmonic minor scale and m. 15 Diminished chord .................... 33 12. Mm. 78-86. Interaction of the modes D Lydian, B Dorian and G# Locryan ........ 35 13. Atehortúa, Concerto for Oboe and double string orchestra, op. 207 movt. IV, Meditación. Systems 1-5. Set theory analysis ........................................ 38 14. System 7. Set 4-3 (0 1 3 4) same set used in the first movement ................... 41 15. Staff lines 10-11. Harmonic “retrograde” in sequence of sets ..................... 42 16. Atehortúa, Concerto for Oboe and double string orchestra, op. 207 movt. V, Rítmica- Tocatta. Mm. 1-13. Sets and compositional syncretism .............................. 46 17. Mm. 46-47. Synthesis of the entire concerto ..................................... 48 vii Blas Emilio Atehortúa’s Concerto for Oboe and Double String Orchestra, op. 207, op. 207 (2000) and Bicinium VII for Oboe and Piano, op. 197 (1998) Introduction Born in Medellín, Antioquia in 1943, Blas Emilio Atehortúa is one of Colombia’s most significant composers and one of the most important contemporary composers in Latin America. Outside of South America, however, he has received little recognition for his work, and most of his pieces remain unpublished. This composer created an extensive catalogue of work that includes vocal music, orchestral music, music for wind ensembles, concertos, and experimental music. His catalogue contains five major pieces for the oboe: Concerto for Oboe and Wind Orchestra, op. 90; Duo Concertante, op. 149, for Oboe and Piano; Bicinium VII, op. 197 for oboe and piano; Concerto for Oboe and Double Orchestra, op. 207; Trio for Oboes and English Horn, op. 185. Only the concerto for oboe and wind orchestra has been published.1 Using a series of conversations with the composer, interviews with several performers, Atehortúa’s essay about his approach to new music and the relationship between performer and composer2 and an analysis of Bicinium VII, op. 197 and Concerto for Oboe and Double Orchestra, op 207, I argue that these works represent a new identity of art music in Colombia that is composed of various elements 1 Bicinium VII, op. 197 for oboe and piano and Concerto for Oboe and Double Orchestra, op. 207, are exactly identical. The Concerto for oboe is an orchestration of Bicinium with one added movement. 2 Blas Emilio Atehortúa, “Breves consideraciones sobre la nueva música, sobre su creatividad, interpretación y relación entre el compositor y el intérprete” Revista Rev. UIS-Humanidades, 24(1), (January-June):61-70 1 from different musical styles. Blas Emilio Atehortúa’s contributions as composer began a new era of music in Colombia. According to Ellie