Luis Serrano Alarcón: SPANISH DANCES - III. JOTA. Vanderbilt Wind Symphony - Thomas Verrier, Cond

Vanderbilt Wind Symphony
Thomas Verrier, Conductor
College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA)
National Conference - February 16, 2023
SPANISH DANCES (Book I)
Spanish Dances (Book I) is the first installment of a larger suite that will explore the rich and varied traditions of Spanish music. These settings are not intended as authentic presentations, rather the composer has taken the essence of each style (rhythm, tempo, melodic character, structure, etc.) as inspiration to ex­plore its possibilities through his own language and musical aesthetic. Inspired by Issac Albeniz's masterpiece Iberia, this suite will eventually consist of twelve pieces separated into four books with three pieces in each. Spanish Dances (Book I) was recognized as a finalist in the NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest in December 2022.
III. JOTA
The Jota is one of the best-known genres of Spanish music, closely related to the Fandango. The traditional harmonization consists of tonic and dominant chords in a major mode, while the accompaniment is usually carried out by a rondalla and castanets. Of all the variants, the Aragonese Jota, which combines song with dance, is most popular and serves as the model in this movement. The structure is ternary: the first section has a lively character (corresponding to the danced part); the second section is the copla, (the part that is sung); the third section is a return to the dance with some variation and a final accel­erando that gives the conclusion a great brilliance.
In this movement, the structure follows the conventional scheme with some modifications. An introduction develops the characteristic llamada of four quarter notes, briefly anticipating the melody of the copla before leading to the first formal section. This is followed by the copla, which is developed freely by the composer. The flugelhorn plays a primary role here, not only because of its sweet timbre, but because this is the instrument that commonly performs the solo coplas in transcriptions. Lastly, the recapitulation consists of a series of variations that lead through a progressive crescendo and a final accelerando to a brilliant coda.
Born in Valencia in 1972, Luis Serrano Alarcon is a Spanish composer and conductor. His works have been performed in more than 30 countries and he has been invited to conduct his own music in Spain, Italy, Singapore, USA, Colombia, Japan, Mexico, and Hong Kong. In 2012, the Southeastern Conference Band Directors Association commissioned the composition of his first Symphony for Wind Orchestra, and in 2017 he wrote the second of his symphonies commissioned by the University of Saint Thomas. His latest projects includ his Cello Concerto and the commission of a consortium of 13 North American universities for the composition of his First Book of Spanish Dances.

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