Reflejos de la Noche

Description

Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello — Reflejos de la Noche is in one continuous movement, played entirely on harmonics. The title of the piece comes from "Reflejos," a collection of poems published in 1926 by the Mexican poet and dramatist, Xavier Villaurrutia (1903-1950). The particular poem that inspired Lavista's composition is one of eight brief gems from "Suite del insomnio" (Insomniac's Suite) titled "Eco" (Echo): La nochejuega con los ruidos copiándolos en sus espejos de sonidos Night plays with noises, copying them in her mirrors of sounds. The verse is written in the form of Japanese haiku, whose principal esthetic concentration is to capture a momentary perception of significance or beauty. The composer refers to the exclusive use of harmonics as "magic dusts," and notes: "The difficulties that these sounds present to the performers are enormous; hence the use of a simple and easily apprehensible musical form." Reflejos de la Noche was composed in 1984 and is dedicated to the Cuarteto Latinoamericano.