Commissioned by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, 2017.

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In the academic sphere, which is of primary importance in his activity as a musician, Enrico Chapela has been working with the idea of summarizing the composition techniques he has developed in recent years, most of which are related to the use of mathematics for the realization of musical material. Among these techniques, there is one on which he has been particularly focused, and that is the use of symmetrical structures in composition.  

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This fact is important in the context of his career, since in works such as Lo nato es neta (What is Innate is Real) (2001-2003) and Ínguesu (2003), he had already used this type of structure. In subsequent years, he explored other avenues of musical creation and recently turned his attention back to symmetrical structures, largely because the fact that they contain repetitive elements gives the materials great malleability, which the composer takes advantage of to carry out all kinds of transpositions and transformations. If you believe, dear music lover reader, that behind Chapela's decision there are complicated theoretical, formal, philosophical, and aesthetic reasons, the truth is very different. When I explicitly asked him about the subject, the composer offered me this simple and forceful answer:  

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Because I discovered that I really like how these symmetrical structures sound.

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Is there perhaps a better reason to take a specific path? The fact is that, at the beginning of his exploration of these matters, the composer worked with only three of these symmetrical structures, and thanks to his doctoral studies, he has developed thirteen others, so that, as he himself says, he now has plenty of material to work with. However, not everything in life is mathematics, science, technique, and deep study: there is also rock. Enrico Chapela began using symmetrical structures when he played electric guitar in a rock band (specifically metal) called Profecía (Prophecy). Like so many rock bands, Profecía evolved, changed its style, and, in the traditional fashion in these cases, changed its name and became Rotor. (Note that this name, in addition to its inevitable suggestion of movement and rhythm, is a palindrome, that is, a symmetrical structure). Chronological reference point: Profecía played from 1991 to 1995, and as Rotor, from 1995 to 1997. At the beginning of his career as a composer, let's say formal, Chapela wrote a piece for guitar in homage to the band, which he precisely titled Rotor, and which he later discarded from his catalog. In summary: the band disappears, the Rotor for guitar disappears, and now the composer is using symmetrical and palindromic structures, so it is impeccably logical that his new symphonic work is titled Rotor.  

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Regarding the concept of symmetrical structures, he is studying and using, Enrico Chapela mentions that it is basically about finding all the ways in which the octave can be divided symmetrically. And he also states that the use and development of such structures has led him to obtain all the pitches (that is, the notes) of the symphonic piece. In addition to being euphonious and palindromic, the word that titles Chapela's work has an undeniable association of movement that, according to Chapela, can refer in the imagination to a helicopter rotor, but also to the fact that metal music is usually danced in the style of slam, which in some of its manifestations involves circular movements. This observation serves to emphasize that, in his facet as a composer of concert music, Enrico Chapela remains firmly and joyfully anchored to his rock past, which is why the work is dedicated to Pancho Guzmán, his childhood friend who used to be the vocalist of the metal band. Furthermore, he states that he is satisfied to have entered a stage of maturity in which he no longer seeks to reinvent his language in each work, but has found one that he can rework and perfect in successive works. Having turned forty and having had a daughter has greatly contributed to this maturity and stability of the composer.  

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Rotor was commissioned from Chapela by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería. The composer comments that receiving this commission was like fulfilling any composer's pipe dream, given the well-known interpretative quality of the OSM. On July 15, 2017, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería premiered Rotor, under the baton of its artistic director, Carlos Miguel Prieto.

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Years later, Chapela returns to the score of Rotor and revises the work, with the primary objective of preparing it for recording. This recording of Rotor was made in 2023 by the Portland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eckart Preu, and is included in a disc (fortunately) entirely dedicated to Mexican symphonic music, which also includes Máscaras (Masks) by Arturo Márquez (1950) and Ángeles de llama y hielo (Angels of Flame and Ice) by Ana Lara (1959).  

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Juan Arturo Brennan