Jose Evangelista is a Spanish born Canadian composer with a unique and interesting voice.
This weekend the SSO string players get to dig in to a unique piece of music by this incredible composer – a first for Saskatoon audiences who have yet to hear Evangelista’s work.
Here’s what he had to say about his piece:
This piece consists of 15 folk melodies from Spain. They include worksongs, lullabies, entertainment songs, religious songs, etc. They come from a variety of regions and most of them are probably fairly old. These arrangements are not harmonizations. The melodies are presented as such, or at most repeated, without formal developments or modulations. There is a systematic use of ornamentation and heterophony which nearly gives the impression of real polyphony, but with no counterpoint or chords. My purpose is to emphasize the validity of Spanish folk music in its pure linear dimensions, that is, as melody. As a matter of fact, many folk tunes are monodic originally, without harmonic accompaniment and they often exhibit modal features difficult to reconcile with the harmonic tonal language. This piece was commissioned by the CBC.
Jose Evangelista