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Concertante Boricua No. 2

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William Pagán-Pérez

William Pagán-Pérez


General Info

Year: 2012
Duration: c. 12:55
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Bassoon and piano
Publisher: William Pagán-Pérez
Cost: Score and Parts Free


Movements

1. Bomba sicá - 4:00
2. Danza Puertorriqueña - 3:29
3. Newyorican heritage - 4:23


Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Bassoon
Solo Trombone
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Electric Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Conga
  • Cowbell
  • Glockenspiel
  • Guiro, Puerto Rican
  • Jam Block
  • Maracas
  • Timbales
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

A " boricua" is a Puerto Rican, especially one living in the United States.


Concertante Boricua No. 2 is a suite of three dances for bassoon (or tenor trombone) and wind ensemble that has some elements, rhythms, forms, and characteristics of the Puerto Rican traditional, popular and danceable music .

I. Bomba Sicá The first movement of this suite, entitled Bomba Sicá, is a musical expression that resembles scenes of the Afro Puerto Ricans’ dance parties. The first movement is not programatic music, and it does not has a form, but because of the style in which this movement was written, it features one of the traditional genres of Puerto Rico, known as Bomba, that Puerto Ricans like to dance. The Bomba genre is considered to be a dance with a song. Couples dance the music with sensual, theatrical but elegant movements, but never erotic. The lyrics during the nineteenth century were in African languages. Later, the lyrics were modify with some Afro Caribbean dialects, but it can be sung in Spanish too.

Sicá is a percussive rhythmic variation of the Bomba genre that is originally from the District of Santurce. This rhythmic variation can be heard in the congas, timbales, Puerto Rican guiro, and maracas through all the first movement. There is no singer in this piece, but the bassoonist (or the trombonist) must be able to sing and make the people dance! Without lyrics, the first movement has two main motives and a four-measure phrase serving as a singing melody. Both motives were inspired on the melody of a children’s song, entitled Pajarito by Marta Hernández (a Puerto Rican composer, music educator and violist). New phrases start with both motives, but they end with another kind of texture or rhythm that also were inspired in “Pajarito.” Both motives and the four measures phrase return in the third movement to bring some kind of cyclicism to the suite.

II. Danza Puertorriqueña. Danza Puertorriqueña is more than a dance: it has a form, and it can be considered as a genre, as a concert piece or an art song, or all of them. In the tradition and during the introduction, gentlemen walk from their spot in the dance hall to invite a lady to dance. The couples remain walking with elegant gestures during the repetition of the introduction. A salute is given, and then the danza starts and the couples dance. Danza is from the mid-nineteenth century; it is elegant and simple. It has a melody, a counter-melody and a bass line, almost like a chamber music trio. In this movement, clarinets (and muted trumpets) play the melody, and the bassoon plays the counter-melody. To bring a more traditional orchestration to the movement, the euphonium plays the counter-melody in section BB, and it also has a unison with the bass clarinet to change the color of the texture; and the bassoon solo has the melody. Section CC is known as el canto del bombardino (the euphonium chant) where the euphonium has the melody, but the horns have the melody in this orchestration and the woodwinds play just ornaments. This movement has a very simple orchestration, it is not too elaborate. The only Latin percussion instruments are the Puerto Rican Guiro with the scraper, trying to keep the Creole tradition. The movement is in D minor to emphasize the legacy from the Spanish Gypsies.

III. Newyorican Heritage. Newyorican is a term for the Puerto Ricans living or born in New York City. Newyorican musicians combined with Cubans and American musicians to create the Latin jazz and the salsa genre, just using a lot of Cuban rhythms, styles, and genres in a fusion or a mixture. The third movement of this suite features some elements from Cuba that Newyoricans and friends used to make the salsa genre. The Newyorican heritage is a movement with characteristics of a celebration dance party; it also has some classical ABACABA rondo features. Section A is a great fanfare for the wind ensemble, and sections B and C are the solo part for the bassoon (or tenor trombone). The fanfare was inspired in the 2010 Centro American Olympic Games, where Puerto Rican sportsmen and sportswomen won first places in their competitions. Sections B and C resemble parties and celebrations after every game. The basic percussion rhythm for the third movement is a variation of songo (a Cuban rhythm by Juan Formell and Yuyo Cárdenas). Motive A (from the first movement) returns in section B, where the bassoon’s phrases also have a Latin jazz texture. Section C is a son montuno combined with the songo rhythm’s variation, where the four-measure phrase of the first movement returns with some Latin jazz texture. The wind ensemble functions as a full Latin jazz band, playing background phrases, having a Latin rhythm section and accompanying the soloist.

- Program Note from score


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Washington and Lee University (Lexington, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Christopher Dobbins, conductor; Heather Ainsworth-Dobbins, bassoon) – 1 April 2019


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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