Orlando Bass - taconear, for prepared piano

Orlando Bass taconear for prepared piano 2024 taconear is derived from stage music that was commissioned by flamenco dancer Paula Comitre in June 2023. Together we created a choreographic and musical work, a sort of flamenco ballet, one might say, entitled Après vous, Madame. It is a tribute to the famous dancer Antonia Mercè, known as La Argentina, one of the key figures in the spread and popularisation of ’neo-classical’ flamenco outside the Iberian Peninsula in the early 20th century. By drawing on their music, she also revitalised the presence of contemporary Spanish composers (Albeniz, Granados, de Falla...) and commissioned works from the younger generation (Nin, Halffter...). It seems only logical, therefore, that this repertoire should be invoked. We still have a few audio recordings of La Argentina’s dance. A precise rhythmic transcription of her playing of the castañuelas served as a reservoir of elements from which to search for an agogic unity. A spectrographic analysis of these sounds, as well as those produced by her heels (taconear), revealed an unexpected wealth of timbres, probably due to minute variations in the angle and speed of each impact. These sounds were reproduced by preparing the piano with neodymium magnets in various places, rubber strips and adhesive paste. Throughout the piece, the harsh world of jondo is explored. The first section evokes Manuel de Falla’s Serenata Andaluza, initially in the form of a cante patrás (song for the bailaora), which transforms into an escobilla (rhythmic episode). A second section refers to Joaquín Nin’s Danza Ibérica, incorporating a querío (lament) between another escobilla and a kind of toccata. After the tolling of a knell, the piece closes with an allusion to La Farruca, a traditional song, and trails off like a tablao that had to be interrupted. It was premiered at the Festival Messiaen on by Orlando Bass, and is dedicated to Cristian Budu. Recorded at home, Orlando Bass, piano