Los Cerros Hablan

Duration ca. 8'
bsn, pno

Commissioned by Vincent TyRaudel Martinez and Wright State University

Program Note

In October 2021 I was contacted by Vincent TyRaudel Martinez about writing a new work for bassoon and piano that was to honor the life of his grandfather, to encapsulate the lives of immigrants, and to capture the energy of the Texas Hill Country landscape. I said yes and was excited to take on this commission. Vincent shared with me articles about his grandfather, family, and the Texas Hill Country. I really enjoyed reading about Vincent’s family and grandfather, and I could tell his Ito was a great man with great integrity and character, and one who naturally lived out his Mexican-American identity and culture, which to me as a Tejano/Chicano myself is special and reminded me my upbringing and family. Being a native of West Texas, I have driven through Hill Country and have found it serene with a calming beauty. Armed with the experience of learning about his grandfather along with my experience of Hill Country and my own Tejano upbringing, I set down to write.

In “Los Cerros Hablan” (“The Hills Speak”), I felt the need for a deep lyrical quality throughout the whole work. As a composer, the energy and sentiment of a piece are one of the most important elements with which I am occupied, and what transpires in this piece are smooth floating melodies with a tinge of melancholy in the beginning. One could say the smooth floating melodies capture the spirit in the air of Hill Country and can speak to the loving sentiments his Ito elicited from his loved ones. The melancholy can speak to the struggles of immigrants and the passing on from this world to the next. Another wonderful aspect of this commission coincides with my concerted embrace of using Mexican melodic cadences and inflections in my classical music as I set out to personally explore what my own Mestizo or Chicano classical music can be. I incorporated this embrace in the piece with soft echoes of hints of ranchera music, which his Ito loved (and which is one of my favorite Mexican music genres as well). I am very happy to have worked on this new piece for Vincent and to contribute to the bassoon and piano repertoire.

“Los Cerros Hablan”, lyrical fantasy for bassoon and piano was commissioned by Vincent TyRaudel Martinez and Wright State University.

- Gilbert Galindo, April 2022

World Premiere: Saturday, April 30, 2022
A Recital for Representation: Vincent Martinez, Bassoon
Bassani Theatre, Dayton, OH