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Program Notes
My wife’s mother, Aurora, hails from Viveiro, a beau7ful seaside Galician town. During my travels there I have discovered several tradi7onal songs that Aurora o@en sings to my wife Maria (or along with her). I also quickly discovered the importance of bagpipes in tradi7onal Galician songs, dance and instrumental music. I was impressed by the blend of what sounded like Cel7c-­‐influenced music and southern-­‐Spanish influenced music. In fact, the Bri7sh Isles (due north of Galicia, across the Cantabric Sea) are only slightly more distant (in the northerly direc7on) from northern Galicia than is the southern-­‐most 7p of Spain (in the southerly direc7on), which likely explains this crossroad of cultures.
Cantares de Galicia, a fi@een-­‐minute work, features several Galician folk melodies, with harmoniza7ons, accompaniments and orchestra7ons of my own design, interspersed with episodes that act as varia7ons on these melodies. Cantares de Galicia translates literally as ‘Galician singing,‘ but it is also poe7cally interpreted as ‘Songs of Galicia.’ The first several sec7ons of the work feature the popular song Miña nai (My mother), which is the lament of a daughter who lost her mother. I found several versions of this song, most of which bear liPle resemblance to each other melodically, but which share a common text. I thought it appropriate to explore tradi7onal, as well as contemporary versions of Miña nai, to reflect the ongoing nature of singing (and melodic varia7on) that abounds in Galician music. The opening melody is a varia7on on the most contemporary version that I found (as performed by the Spanish ensemble, Luar Na Lubre). It is heard in canon between two offstage-­‐trumpets. A@er three brief episodes, a tradi7onal version, as sung by my wife and her mother, is played by a single offstage-­‐
trumpet, and developed by the ensemble. A@er a brief fanfare, Muñeira do Miño (a tradi7onal Galician dance) is heard. In its tradi7onal form it is a bagpipe melody, accompanied by castanets and a drum. My orchestra7on here (and elsewhere in the piece) makes reference to the rich and unique 7mbre of bagpipes.
Following an extensive episode, we return to Miña nai but now in a folksy, ‘playground’ version. This prompted me to respond with a brief, renaissance-­‐inspired varia7on of this tune.
The work’s penul7mate melody, Miu Diño, follows. It is a tradi7onal song that Aurora and Maria sang for me on a recent visit to Viveiro. It is a rus7c song, typically sung without accompaniment, but I was mo7vated to provide a detailed, impressionist-­‐
inspired accompaniment for this bold tune.
Lastly, Fullín Fullan is heard. It a sassy, vigorously sung, cour7ng song, tradi7onally sung by a woman, with a very ac7ve percussion accompaniment, but with liPle or no harmonic support. I discovered a version sung by women and men in call-­‐and-­‐response style that served as the model for my instrumental version. I composed a rich, harmonic texture as an accompaniment that serves to match the high-­‐intensity power of the tradi7onal, purely vocal forms. At its conclusion, a brief coda emerges, featuring a phrase from Muñeira do Miño played simultaneously with a Miu Diño mo7ve, both of which drive the piece to its climac7c ending. Michael Gandolfi