Sirenas

This piece was written for the Ensemble Almaviva, and will be part of a premiere concert built around Lunario Sentimental, a book of poems by the Argentinian poet Leopold Lugones, a leading figure of Artgentine modernism.

Among Lugones’ collections of poems, I chose El pescador de Sirenas.

The lyrical, generous writing describes a dreamlike situation in which a man stands debourt on a boat in the middle of a moonlit lake.

The myth of the sirens, the imaginary powers of the nocturnal star associated with madness and death, create a powerful momentum that invites us to think musically about these verses.

It’s no coincidence that Borges said that Lugones’ work was “waiting to be set to music”.

For this work, which I entitled Sirenas, I used the instrumental Pierro Lunaire formation to create a beautiful palette of vocal and instrumental timbres.

The use of the poet’s Spanish language gives full meaning to the Argentinian writer’s assertion that “verse is music”.