Raíces (Colomer)

Raíces, música per a un aniversari (Catalan: Roots, music for an anniversary), often referred to as Raíces, is a composition for wind ensemble by Valencian composer Juan J. Colomer. It was commissioned by the Alzira Musical Society and finished on November 1998. It was eventually premiered on December 21, 1998, performed by the Symphonic Band of the Alzira Musical Society and conducted by Ángel Crespo García, in his home town.

Structure

The pieces consists of three movements and takes approximately 23 minutes to perform. The movement list is as follows:

• I. Sin compás - Moderato - Vivo
• II. Adagio
• III. Presto

The first section of the first movement is an unmeasured part in which Colomer tries to recreate the sounds remembered by himself when he was a student. It consists of extracts from different pieces and lessons for several instruments. The second and the third movement are to be played continuously.^[1]

Instrumentation

Colomer wrote this composition for symphony wind orchestra. He specified the need for a large group of percussionist, as up to 10 percussionists are required to play this composition. The complete instrumentation is as follows.

Piccolo Flute Oboe English horn Bassoon E-flat clarinet B-flat clarinet Bass clarinet Alto sax Tenor sax Baritone sax

Horn Piccolo trumpet Trumpet Trombone Bass trombone Flugel Euphonium Tuba Cello Double bass Piano Percussion

Colomer also wrote an arrangement for six percussionists; however, it is rarely performed and there are no known recordings of it.^[2]

In popular culture

• A part of the third movement of this composition was used for the final scene of the movie A Day Without a Mexican.

References

1. Raíces - Banda Simfònica de la Societat Musical d'Alzira. Alzira, Valencia: Societat Musical d'Alzira. p. 5.
2. "SYMPHONIC WIND ENSEMBLE WORKS - Juan J Colomer". Juan J. Colomer. 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2014.

External links

• Complete catalog of works by Juan J. Colomer