ENRICO CHAPELA BARBA
COMPOSER
piroklasta
Symphony Orchestra
Commissioned by Radio France and Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, 2017.
Pyroclasta has a structure known as "Alla breve," popular among European radio stations. It has 5 short independent movements, designed for separate broadcast from Monday to Friday, transmitting the complete piece on Saturday.
Regarding the inspiration, I was watching a documentary that listed the worst horrors that volcanoes have to offer. Impressed by the beautiful and raw power of nature, I decided to dedicate each movement to a different pyroclastic feature.
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Magma is the dense molten rock that bubbles inside the chamber.
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Ash is the fine dust that rises into the atmosphere.
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Scoria is made of small, spongy, and dense rocks.
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Tephra describes all the flying things that are expelled during explosions.
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Lahar is a fast-moving downhill mudflow formed from melted glacial ice.
I Magma
III SCORIA
ii ASH
IV TEFRA
V LAHAR
Performances
World Premiere. Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane, Australia. Queensland Symphony, Alondra de la Parra.
April 29, 2017