El Muro

From Wind Repertory Project
Ricardo Lorenz

Ricardo Lorenz


This title of this work translates from Spanish as "The Wall."


General Info

Year: 2008 / 2013
Duration: c. 12:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Southern Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $225.00   |   Score Only - $15.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum (small and large)
  • Cabasa
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Field Drum
  • Finger Cymbals
  • Floor Tom
  • Glockenspiel
  • Kick Drum
  • Log or Slit Drums (4: high to low)
  • Marimba
  • Splash Cymbal (large and small)
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam (medium)
  • Tom-Tom (2: double-headed)
  • Tubular Bells
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Made up of tightly woven riffs, El Muro suggests a variety of Latin American musical styles, from the Colombian cumbia, Peruvian huayno, Mexican son, and the Cuban montuno. Venezuelan-born composer Ricardo Lorenz personalizes these styles, incorporating them seamlessly without compromising the underlying musical logic of his work.

Conceptually, the piece challenges the notion of both physical and imaginary walls which divide and oppress people. The resulting drama that plays out in the piece portrays these rich musical traditions confronting “the wall.”

-Program Note from publisher


El Muro (The Wall) was composed in 2008 on commission from The American Bandmaster’s Association and the University of Florida Bands. Lorenz describes the work as “a ten-minute long sound structure,” made up of well-knit motives, lines, and rhythms that are emblematic of different styles of Latin American music including the Colombian cumbia, the Peruvian huayno, the Mexican son, and the Cuban montuno. The work is centered on a single recognizable melody that appears in different guises throughout the work, finally culminating in an offstage party band setting at the end of the work. In El Muro Lorenz creates a work that captures his philosophical feelings toward the walls, both literal and figurative, that are erected that keep us distanced from each other and even ourselves. He ultimately explores the power music has to demolish these walls.

- Program Note from Western Michigan University Wind Symphony concert program, 21 November 2021


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) - 23 April 2023
  • Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) Wind Symphony (Scott Boerma, conductor) - 21 November 2021
  • Indiana University (Bloomington) Wind Ensemble (Rodney Dorsey, conductor) – 19 November 2019
  • University of South Carolina (Columbia) Wind Ensemble (Cormac Cannon, conductor) – 27 October 2019
  • University of Missouri, Kansas City, Wind Symphony (Steven D. Davis, conductor) – 17 October 2019
  • Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (Joseph Higgins, conductor) – 5 March 2018
  • Shenandoah Conservatory (Winchester, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Timothy Robblee, conductor) - 4 November 2017
  • University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) – 2 February 2017
  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) - 6 February 2015
  • Michigan State University (East Lansing) Wind Symphony (Kevin Sedatole, conductor) – 28 March 2009 (CBDNA 2009 National Conference, Austin, Tx.)


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 395.
  • Lorenz, R. (2008). El Muro = The Wall: For Symphonic Wind Ensemble (2008) [score]. Lauren Keiser Music: Maryland Heights, Mo.