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SYMPHONY Nr.1 for Wind Orchestra by ENRIQUE HERNANDIS MARTINEZ (Spain, 1977)

[#260] July 15, 2024

2014 | Wind Orchestra | Grade 4-5 | 15’ - 20’ | Symphony



Swedish composer, conductor, and educator Hilding Rosenberg

Symphony Nr. 1 by Spanish composer, conductor, and educator Enrique Hernandis Martínez is our Composition of the Week.


Symphony Nr.1 was commissioned by the Government of Valencia, Spain, in 2013, and it was premiered in 2014.


It follows the classical structure of three movements, which are contrasting in character. Each one of them are divided in two sections as well, with relatively symmetrical parts very close in style.


The music does not follow any program but freely explore different compositional techniques and styles. The movements are:

 

I Prelude-Allegro

 

“This movement evolves from the intellectual to the popular. The Prelude is a small serial and instrumental work, with techniques that were once called contemporary, but now and here they try to find new colors for the band, manipulating the two main motifs.

The Allegro is wrapped in modal music, to end the movement with a simple and obstinate theme in A major.”

 

II Canción-Romanza

 

“This second movement seeks the most sensitive side of the piece. With the typical pretext of "2nd movement Lento" of a symphony, it lacks even an introduction, and begins directly with a song. It develops the theme gently, like a ballad, until the Romanza arrives (so called because it uses the Dorian mode, in medieval style) which is developed and re-exposed reaching the end of the movement in a soft dynamic.”

 

III Ariadna-Flamenco Chorale

 

“This third movement is written in flamenco style: The fragment called Ariadna, refers to the Madrid Jazz-flamenco pianist Ariadna Castellanos. It is a compendium of different flamenco “palos” and rhythms, freely sequenced and composed with influences of Arabic music, in which the melody has the main role. The theme is fully developed, passing through the most difficult passages of the whole work, and progresses until the middle of the movement, in which the introduction appears again. With this creative spirit begins the Flamenco Choir, in which we want to start “from scratch to finish at the top”. The form is that of a protestant chorale, but with Phrygian harmony, in jazz style and introducing the metric of popular rhythms 10 and 12, typical of the Spanish flamenco repertoire and other areas of the Mediterranean basin. The homophonic texture increases in density closing in a tutti, where the last call that had served as introduction and separation of parts in this third movement appears. The finale, with very strong dynamics, it is set to test the endurance of the instrumentalists in the last measures.”
Program notes by Enrique Hernandis

 

Sinfonia has a duration of 16’ and it is scored for the following instrumentation:

 

Piccolo

Flute 1-2

Oboe 1-2

Bassoon

English Horn

Eb Clarinet

Bb Clarinet 1-2-3

Bass Clarinet

Soprano Saxophone

Alto Saxophone 1-2

Tenor Saxophone 1-2

Baritone Saxophone

Bass Saxophone

 

French Horn 1-2-3-4

Flugelhorn 1-2

Bb Trumpet 1-2-3

Trombone 1-2-3

Euphonium in C - Tuba

Double Bass

 

Percussion

Timpani, Crotales

Percussion 1: Susp. Cymbal, Snare Drum, Cajón, Toms (Medieval) Wood Chimes, Toms

Percussion 2: Susp. Cymbal, Triangle, Tam-Tam, Bass Drum, Bongos Wind Chimes, Toms, Tambourine, Cymbals, Castanets

Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Tubular Bells, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Marimba

 

Symphony Nr. 1 was the test piece in the First Section of the XXXVI Certamen de Bandas de la Comunidad Valenciana in 2016.

 

Enrique Hernandis Martínez graduated in Composition and Percussion at the Valencia Conservatory of Music and in Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA).  He has won over 20 Awards of Symphonic Composition around the world, highlighting "Hellenikon Idyllion"(Olympic Games in Athens 2004), the Prize "Villa de Madrid"(2005), European Young Composers (Belgium 2006), Daniel Composers Competition (Israel 2008), Wind Band Composition Competition of Singapore (2018) National Gugak Center (Seoul, Korea) and Vienna Pure Music Competition (2021).  Currently is Professor of Composition at Berklee College of Music (Valencia Campus) as well as in the Valencia Conservatory of Music.

From 2022 is member of the Board of World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

 

 

More on Enrique Hernandis

 

Other works for band include:

  • El Orinoco ilustrado (2011)

  • Las Tijeras de Matisse (2022)

  • Taxi (2024)

  • Veronese (2024)

 

 

 

 

Image by Rafael Ishkhanyan

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