Concertino Criollo N°1, opus 45
Premiered by Carlos Pessina (1897-1974), concertmaster of the Orchestra of the Colón Theater, Buenos Aires, in the auditorium Casa del Teatro, on August 5, 1949. It was conceived as a violin concert without orchestra. We believe this Concertino N° 1 was begun after the Concertino N°2, albeit finished first, whereby the second has a lower opus number. The first movement Allegro vigoroso e con impeto presents two themes in a sonata form and a cadenza before the final coda; the second, Andante dolente, evinces an introspective expression; the third is a sparkling Rondó-bailecito where the folk dance of the North of Argentina -the bailecito- is transformed into an archaic modal dance.
Rapsodia para violín solo, opus 83
In his book Los grandes problemas de la música published in Buenos Aires in 1954, Jaime Pahissa -Camps’ teacher- explains his intertonal system in which the various musical voices of a piece are in different tonalities, which in turn are continuously modulated. For Pahissa the system of pure dissonance -as opposed to the tonal system structured on chords formed on the basis of two consonances- is based as a chord formed by two dissonant intervals, of major and minor second. For example, in that formed based on the sounds C-C sharp-D. In turn, Pahissa opposes to it a chord with less tension, formed by a quart and a minor seventh, e.g. D-G-C, whereby the result would also be dissonant, although less “harsh” than that of the previous chord. In this manner, he seeks the alternance of the different tensions, but always through dissonance, thus producing a system somehow inspired in some of the proposals by Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) and his Viennese School, but more Latino-like and fully exploiting the possibilities of the tension-distension effect. Pahissa called this aesthetics post-tonality.
Camps built the Rhapsody presented here on that system. The work was dedicated to Argentine virtuoso Daniel Zisman. It skillfully displays different instrumental resources: tremoli, cadences, cantabile passages, chords, glissandi and arpeggios. As in other pieces by the composer, this one is characterized by a clear and tidy structure. Towards the end, in the little meno mosso, ma ritmico it shifts to a usual tango rythm: the series of stresses 3-3-2. As in other works, Camps subtly stylises elements characteristic of the popular urban music of the Plata River.
Grave y Presto, opus 3
This only work for solo violin by Ficher, was dedicated successively to violinists Alfredo Hess and Alfredo Zubrisky. The Grave develops like a prelude very much in the manner of Max Reger (1873-1916). Trills, string leaps, double notes and the use of the highest tessitura prepare the Presto - a brilliant moto perpetuo of effective virtuosity.
Grave
This work was dedicated to Yugoslav-Argentine violinist Ljerko Spiller (*1908). It is representative of the neo-baroque trend shown by Graetzer in a notable portion of his music. The writing is melodically expressive both in the low and high registers. Fourth and fifth intervals in double strings abound. The piece enjoyed certain popularity among Argentine violinists due to the fact that it was published - an advantage enjoyed by few Argentine works with the exception of piano and chamber vocal music.
Chacarera meets the Puna - Comment by the performer.
In musical terms, Chacarera meets the Puna brings together sections in the ambiguous 3/4-6/8 bar, typical of chacarera and malambo, reinforced by the use of linear polyphony with two voices and strings in the air as a rhythmic-melodic pedal, with a broad central section where tremolo and glissandi on a string evoke the singing of the Puna (particularly Salta’s baguala) and the studiously irregular beats on the body of the violin, imitating the accompaniment of that song with a caja.
These sections are in turn articulated and disarticulated on the basis of a dissolution of their constituent elements, which become rhythmically spaced until they lose any audible connection. The reverse is true in terms of the presentation of the sections, which are prepared by the isolated appearance of these same elements. Through this technique the author weaves and tears separate musical meshes that finally interpenetrate.
From the interpretation point of view and leaving aside the problems of virtuosity posed by the work, it is important to find a balance between the assertive, extrovert and danceable nature of the chacarera section, and the intimate, mysterious and cantabile character of the Puna section.
Spin - Comment by the composer.
Without going into the depths of Quantum Physics, I want to say that when I thought of calling this work Spin, I connected that marvelous angular impulse of energy with the construction of the basic subjects that make a phrase in music.
By using different rhythmic and melodic discourses that allow the showcasing of the instrument, I composed several of these generating diverse textures, colors and speeds. The idea behind the construction of this musical kaleidoscope is, through the minimum concept represented by its parts, to allow the listener to build and develop, in accordance with their sensitivity, the melodic path suggested by each of them.
I believe that this game of creative freedom is fundamental for the work to be completed by the listener. The beginning and the end are the only formal elements in this piece, representing the door that opens up to imagination, only to be closed later.
Sonata Decareana, opus 5 N° 2. On a tango by Julio De Caro.
The Dos Sonatas Decareanas form a sort of tribute to tango and to the contributions by Julio De Caro (1899-1980). They arise from a desire to provide the Argentine repertoire with a didactic sonata for a group of violins playing in unison (following the model of Prokofieff’s Sonata opus 115), which would help jointly teaching tango phrasing and rubato, and at the same time, recover certain inherent resources of the violin -which for several reasons have stopped being used in the performance of ‘classical’ violin music-, such as portamento. The Dos Sonatas Decareanas were finally scored, however, for solo violin.
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