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composition

A Tí Te Toca : para dos pianos y orquesta / Marijn Simons

Other authors:
Simons, Marijn (Composer)
Contains:
Corrido
Mariachi
Sandunga (Danza favorita de Frida Kahlo)
Salsa
Mambo
Description:
"A Tí Te Toca" (It's your turn) is a Latin jazz expression referring to when a band member takes a solo. I chose five Mexican and Cuban folksongs and dances as a basis for this composition, in which the two pianos have soloistic parts. In comparison with the traditional song dances, the two pianos fulfil the role of the singer(s).

The "Corrido" is a story song, an old ballad tradition from Mexico for almost two centuries. The texts are obscure, and interpreting them is difficult since they often refer to local customs. For the common people, the Corrido is a way to tell the unofficial version of history and to protest against exploitation and oppression. This slow opening movement has an epic and lyrical character, continuously supported by a pedal point of two notes (a perfect fourth) in the bassoons and contrabasses.

The second movement, "Mariachi", is very folkloristic and has a typical Mexican atmosphere. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Mariachi started in the
Mexican state of Jalisco, according to the popular legend in the city of Cocula. After the example of the Spanish theatre orchestras, a Mexican variant arose consisting of 2 violins, vihuela and guitarrón (respectively, a higher and lower tuned guitar). Nowadays, a complete Mariachi ensemble consists of 6 to 8 violins, 2 trumpets, vihuela, guitarrón and guitar. The typical Mariachi music is not only meant to be played or sung but, from the very beginning, also meant to dance to. In Mexico, Mariachi music is vital in social life and is used to celebrate important happenings such as weddings, baptisms, birthdays, and funerals.

Frida Kahlo was an extraordinary artist and one of the most famous people in Mexico. After a terrible traffic accident, she lived for the rest of her life in unbearable pain. But she remained unbending and unremitting until her death. Her marriage with the world-famous fresco painter Diego Rivera is legendary. They both had a deep-rooted belief in the revolution to glorify the Native past of Mexico. This relation between the elephant and the dove -the common nicknames for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo- varied between passionate love and scornful hate. The "Sandunga" is known to have been Frida Kahlo's favourite dance.

The "Salsa" started in the sixties out of a mix of Afro-Caribbean jazz and Latin-Cuban music when innumerable Cubans settled in Florida. Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce - the dance is as hot and spicy as the Spanish sauces. The name Salsa was first used in New York as a nickname for this dance. The music is fast and light, but above all, fun.

Perez Prado is without doubt the father of the "Mambo". In 1943, he introduced the dance at the La Tropicana nightclub in Havana. The Mambo and Salsa started out of the same Latin-Cuban background and have much in common. Perez Prado, born in Cuba but active in Mexico, developed a total concept for the Mambo: the music, the dance steps and the clothing. - MARIJN SIMONS