Angélica Negrón: Marejada (2020)
Composed for 50 For The Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire
Artist Justin Favela created a piñata painting specifically for this piece titled “Seven Seas Beach, Puerto Rico.”
Artist Statement
"Marejada is a piece written for Kronos Quartet inspired by the pixelated landscapes of artist Justin Favela and the desire to escape to a place that feels and sounds like home. The piece combines field recordings from the waves in Seven Seas Beach in Fajardo, and birds from La Jungla Beach in Guánica, both located in Puerto Rico, along with undulating gestures in the strings reminiscent of the sound of waves.
“I wanted to capture the feeling of joy and calmness I feel when I’m in Puerto Rico in these beautiful places while also expressing the complexity of the diaspora experience for those who like me cannot be physically present in those places and close to their friends and family most of the time.
“When Kronos approached me in March 2020 to write a piece for them to rehearse and perform together during this difficult moment of social isolation, I wanted to create something playful and rhythmic yet flexible and malleable that would be fun to put together. Something that responded directly to the challenges during this time of performing music together while not being able to be together in the same room. But also, something that took into consideration the limitations of the video communications platforms and use those challenges as compositional material and creative impulse. The natural delay, the canceling of sound frequencies and the inability for everyone to fully play together at the same time and in perfect synchronization, are all challenges that I decided to embrace as unique elements that make this piece thrive even within the limitations of the medium.
“Marejada is an invitation to sonically escape from your room and to actively imagine and immerse yourself in a different place and time.”