$15 general / $10 student

Supported by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and performed by Fonema Consort, “La canción del agua / The Song of Water” features music by Latin American composers that acts as a medium for dialogue with the natural world. Channeling elemental, earthy energies, these works are marked by a tacticility and sensibility unique to each composer. 

At the center of this program is the world premiere of a new work by Mexican composer Marisol Jiménez. Her work unites the “primeval with the technological to seek forceful sensuous and visceral energies”. 

Costa Rican composer Pablo Chin’s “AquAria” is a duet for percussionist playing water, and singer singing as water, inspired by the voice of the Salmon River. 

Mexican composer Luis Fernando Amaya’s quartet “Bestiarios Seís” sings the song of the coquí, a frog emblematic of the Puerto Rican natural soundscape. 

Nicaraguan-American composer Gabriel Bolaños’ “Sonoritas” “was heavily influenced by the sonic landscape in remote jungle/rural areas around Managua”, and creates a fluttering, shimmering ecosystem of sound between flute and clarinet. 

The program features two new trios written for Fonema Consort by emerging Brazilian composers Karen Rocha and Maria Tanganelli. Rocha’s “Mundaú” is a lament for the embattled Mundaú River. Maria Tanganelli’s "Bashô" sets text by Pedro Molhallen that speaks of birds, fallen leaves, this beautiful world.

La canción de agua: New Music by Latin American Composers is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by LMCC. This project was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.