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Rating: We owe this beautiful CD from the Austrian label col legno for the complete collection of the orchestral works of a little-known composer, Francisco Guerrero: five pieces in total, written between 1980 and 1996, with a total duration of 55 minutes.
In two of them, the only instrumental family used is the strings: "Ariadna" for 10 violins, 5 violas, and 5 cellos, which, despite the limited ensemble, lives with its originality in the internal articulation of the piece and in the lively and brilliant sounds; "Oleada" for string orchestra, a true wave of sound from the title itself, a highly tense piece entirely built on the sound layers of the strings performing chromatic scales ascending and descending.
The initial part of "Sáhara" is also entirely entrusted to the strings, which pile on top of each other in the medium-high register; the brass intervene, beyond the midpoint of the piece, to punctuate here and there the dense fabric created by Guerrero. Similarly, "Antar Atman", written by a composer not yet in his thirties, demonstrates the ability to create a rich and always differentiated sound palette.
Opening the CD is the piece composed latest in chronological order, "Coma Berenices", named after a constellation: a demonstration of skill by a composer who poured his myriad interests, from astronomy to fractals, into his music. Here the usual articulation of the strings in layers is torn by filamentary inserts of flutes and piccolos, or by somber sounds of the brass, but it's the widespread use of percussion that gives the piece a dark and sanguine color; an overwhelming acoustic violence occasionally overwhelms the listener, leaving them astonished and admired.
A composer with a strong personality, Francisco Guerrero: he seems to summarize in his music the harsh and impetuous traits of his land. Born in Linares in 1951, he passed away in 1997. This CD reminds us of his figure and increases the desire for greater circulation of his music in concert halls.
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