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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.

  1. Magma is the dense molten rock that bubbles inside the chamber.

  2. Ash is the fine dust that rises into the atmosphere.

  3. Scoria is made of small, spongy, and dense rocks.

  4. Tephra describes all the flying things that are expelled during explosions.

  5. 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

Contact

Mexico

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+52 1 55 1825 9362

enrico@enricochapela.com

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