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Program Notes by José Elizondo:
The title of the piece makes reference to
Cambridge, a city that has played an important role in the lives of Yo-Yo Ma,
Carlos Prieto and José Elizondo. In the words of the composer:
« One of my sources of inspiration was my memories
of the Charles River in Cambridge. The reflections of the trees and skyline
are modified and "recreated" by the gentle waves, sometimes
becoming a bit fuzzier but sometimes transforming themselves into something
that can be even more fanciful and interesting than the original image. When
one reflects upon things, our experience of memories can be a little bit like
that too, since our memories don’t simply capture snapshots of reality, but
rather of an interpretation of reality that has been modified, distorted or
enhanced by our minds, according to our outlook and life experience. The
conversation between the two cellos in this piece sometimes uses imitation to
evoke the idea of images and their reflections. The melodic
"images" are sometimes reflected accurately and sometimes modified
or expanded. These musical motives and their reflections can be
complementary, or their differences might propel each other in unexpected
directions, but they always keep flowing gently, like a river. The cello
melodies are sprinkled with longer high notes that are like the shimmering
sun light caressing the surface of the water.
Since this piece was written in 2020, I wanted to
write a piece that is positive, warm and uplifting, like a gentle caress that
compassionately embraces the listener in consolation of all people went
through during 2020. It is a composition that gently invites us to have a
moment of serene, optimistic reflection, but also gratitude for those
shimmering moments that we still have in our lives.
This piece is in the key of G (the note G is also
known as “sol”, which means ”sun” in Spanish) so I clearly wanted to write
something sunny and luminous. At the very heart of this piece, the “current”
of this piece takes us to a place where we hear 8 measures from the Minuet in
Bach’s monumental Cello Suite #1. It is meant as an homage to Bach, but also
to maestros Prieto and Ma. The first time I heard the Bach suites (live or in
a recording) was during a concert that maestro Prieto gave in Boston in the late
90s. That concert inspired me and changed my life. And of course, maestro
Ma's recordings of Bach's Suites are iconic and have accompanied me and
comforted my soul in many important moments of my life. Since this takes
inspiration from a physical river, I also wanted to pay homage to the
greatest “river” of all in Classical Music: J. S. Bach, (Bach means “brook”
or “stream” in German). His music is an endless source of inspiration and
awe. »
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