Program Notes

'CANTOS TONALES' FOR MARIMBA AND STRING QUARTET

I. Invocacion a la Panchamama
II. Cantos voraz
III. La Cancion de la Noche
IV. Canto final

The first three movements of "Cantos Tonales" evoke the folk music of Altube’s native Argentina. The last is the irresistibly urban music of Buenos Aires and the spirit of tango. Invocacion a la Panchamama is a prayer to Mother Earth (Panchamama). Canto voraz (voracious song) refers to the chacarera, a fast rhythm from Northern Argentina. La Cancion de la Noche is a zamba, a sensual couples dance of conquest inspired by Nietzsche’s “Thus spoke Zarathustra”:

Something unquenched, unquenchable, is in me that wants to speak out. A craving for love is within me; it speaks the language of love.

The two themes in Canto final spring from the Portuguese words "adeus" (goodbye) and "saudade" (nostalgia). The movement appears to wind down, only to be followed by a restlessness that culminates in a headlong fall. Altube is on faculty at the Arts Academy in Setubal, Portugal.

Program notes by David Yang