Sir George Benjamin (composer, conductor and Henry Purcell Professor of Composition at King's College London) has been awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category of Music and Opera for "his extraordinary contribution and impact in contemporary creation in the realms of symphonic music, opera and chamber music," according to the committee.
Benjamin's symphonic and chamber music has been performed by the world's leading orchestras and institutions.
The committee's citation notes that the London composer "manages to communicate directly with the audience, without forgoing a rigorous, fine-grained workmanship in all aspects of composition, with particular regard to his mastery of orchestration and tone color, and exquisite formal architecture."
With his four operas – Into the Little Hill (2006), Written on Skin (2009-12), Lessons in Love and Violence (2015-17) and Picture a day like this (2023) – Benjamin has found his most unique voice, in the view of the committee, “modernizing the operatic language, proposing new structures and consistently presenting an emotional dramaturgy that both connects with and moves the public of the 21st century.”
Víctor García de Gomar, committee secretary and Artistic
Director of Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, stated: “We are probably talking
about the most important name in contemporary music. And he is still a
formidable creative force. Every new addition to his catalogue is eagerly
awaited, especially in the world of opera: he writes a new one every four or
five years, and with that rhythm of output and the quality of his work,
expectations are always high.”
Music as a mirror of today's world
Asked about the subject matter of his operas, Benjamin believes the historical period they are set in is of secondary importance: “As for the fact that our works are usually set in quite ancient circumstances, but have strong contemporary references, that’s one of the many, many things I’ve had to learn while writing opera, to avoid settling for easy solutions or two dimensional portrayals. It’s something that has been part of my learning process,” the composer explained.
Music, theater and opera, with words and drama, can’t help but throw a mirror to our contemporary world. “And there’s a strange beauty to how opera can create a deep resonance to things that are right now important to our world.
We face such big challenges at the moment, it’s almost terrifying. What can I or anyone else offer? I don’t feel worthy to even suggest a solution to anything. But music can speak to the heart of the people like nothing else can,” Benjamin added.
When composing, Benjamin aims “to write something that I want to hear myself, that matters to me and is the best that I can do, in the hope there might be some people out there who are also sensitive and open to it, and with whom it might resonate. It might stay with them and open up an area of thinking and feeling that is meaningful and new.”
A strong bond with Spain
In his work for chorus and orchestra Dream of the Song (2014-2015) Benjamin’s writing shows the influence of Spanish culture: “In that piece there’s not only text by Federico García Lorca – whose home I visited in Granada the first time and whose piano I played – there are also texts set to Hebrew poetry of the 11th century from Andalusia, a secular poetry of extraordinary modernity and beauty.”
Benjamin admits to feeling a deep connection to Spain. “I love the country and have been many times, to many different regions. My first professional experience was in Barcelona, where someone who has remained a dear friend and loyal supporter of my music, Josep Pons [the current musical director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona], invited me to conduct the Teatre Lliure Chamber Orchestra.
He also invited me to conduct the City of
Granada Orchestra, which gave me the thrill of seeing what is perhaps the most
beautiful place in Europe, the Alhambra. I’ve been two or three times since and
it remains for me an absolute jewel in the crown of our continent.”
https://www.bbva.com/en/the-bbva-foundation-awards-the-frontiers-prize-to-composer-george-benjamin/
Y UNA GRABACIÓN
YAYA KUNTUR
(Padre Cóndor)
Himnos en latín y quechua (siglos XVI al XIX)
MANUEL VILAS & ARS ATLÁNTICA
Este disco, con el título en quechua de “Yaya Kuntur”, está dedicado a ciertos aspectos musicales que, si bien se han tratado de manera científica en libros, escritos, estudios y congresos por parte de investigadores y musicólogos, pocas veces se han visto reflejados o traducidos en propuestas de música práctica. La intención con esta grabación es “hacer sonar” la visión musical que me inspira el estudio de estas mismas fuentes.
Uno de los aspectos tratados en este disco se centra en el himno católico en quechua, del que se pretende ofrecer una rápida panorámica a través de su historia desde sus inicios en el siglo XVI hasta el siglo XX, y que comienza con dos ejemplos contenidos en el Symbolo Catholico Indiano de Luis Jerónimo de Oré: una referencia al canto del Symbolo Menor en quechua utilizando la melodía del himno Sacris solemniis, (tracks 10 y 11), y el Te Deum en quechua (track 13).
En este recorrido no podía faltar el famoso Hanaqpachap Kusikuynin (track 4) procedente del Ritual Formulario de Pérez Bocanegra, del que se propone una versión para voz y acompañamiento de arpa tomando el tradicional wayno como fuente de inspiración.
La importancia del himno en quechua, adaptándose a los tiempos, atraviesa el siglo XIX (track 14), alcanzando amplia aceptación en el siglo XX (tracks 18, 21). Además de los himnos en quechua, no se puede obviar la importancia de los que emplean la lengua latina, tan presentes en estas latitudes desde las primeras fases de evangelización; hay en el disco varios ejemplos de himnos en latín procedentes de un himnario de la catedral de La Plata (Sucre) del siglo XVIII (tracks 5, 6, 15), y uno del siglo XIX (track 19).
La lengua quechua, la gran protagonista de este disco, fue uno de los objetivos de estudio lingüístico y traducción en la Sudamérica hispana desde mediados del XVI hasta mediados del XVII. Han llegado hasta nuestros días una docena de volúmenes de esta época que incluyen sermones, catecismos, oraciones, himnos y otros géneros en quechua, todos escritos por sacerdotes españoles para que fueran usados en parroquias y pueblos de indios.
Este quechua, idioma de gran diversidad lingüística, corresponde al quechua de la sierra sur, escrito sobre todo en un patrón basado en la variedad del Cuzco, la capital incaica. A este quechua se le ha denominado “quechua pastoral”, el tipo de lenguaje o registro cristiano en quechua que corresponde a las obras contenidas en este disco. Este corpus estaba pensado parar ser usado en parroquias plenamente organizadas, en zonas que habían estado bajo control cristiano durante generaciones.
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