The Mexican musician Enrico Chapela Barba (1974) found that academic composers had an energy similar to that of heavy metal groups. For example, Spring consecration, by Igor Stravinsky, the same as the symphonic poem Sensemaya, by Silvestre Revueltas, or the string quartets of Béla Bartók.
In honor of the reminiscence of this movement that he dedicated himself to with his electric guitar in a band several decades ago, the public will hear Rotora piece written by Chapela and which will be performed this weekend by the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra (OFCM) at the Ollin Yoliztli Cultural Center.
In an interview, he brings up the experiment carried out by the Finnish cellists of Apocalyptica, who in their first album adapted Metallica songs to string quartets. I discovered that not only could a similar energy be transferred, but that I had much more possibilities of creating contrasts, that not all the time was very energetic, but that it went down and had calmer and less rhythmic textures.
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The concerts this Saturday and Sunday with the OFCM will have Diego Naser as guest conductor, in a program that also includes works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Georgina Derbez, in a journey through contemporary Mexican music with leaps to classicism and romanticism
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Rotor is the name of one of the metal bands in which a very young Enrico played on stage. I discovered the guitar in high school, and I began to study seriously from high school onwards.
. Learning the instrument was divided between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. He later formed a band called Prophecy, which achieved some recognition, but which over time would evolve in style and become Rotor.
Realizing that the classical field was the one that would allow him to dedicate himself completely to writing music without having to be a performer, and knowing that his bandmates were amateurs and their life interests were different, he decided to choose the professional path on the side. of groups of 80 musicians under the direction of a director.
I distanced myself from metal because it was very low contrast, it is intense. I like it, but not always. I like the orchestral field more, my father took me to Ofunam since I was a child to listen to Beethoven.
Add: These days, with the Internet, you have access to virtually every style that humanity has invented, restricting yourself to just one is ridiculous. What interests me is the emotional effect, which is the purpose of music, to hear that sound that makes you feel. There are many styles that achieve a similar effect. For me, to begin with, loud music, very rhythmic, is what I like the most, that’s why I got into metal. But there are also authors in the orchestral world or Arabic music in which the energy is fantastic. Basically I use the tools that I have learned from other styles; If it works for me, I’ll put it in
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The presentation of Rotor this weekend is a new interpretation
of the work that premiered in 2017 in the Nezahualcóyotl hall, which was commissioned by the Minería Symphony Orchestra with Carlos Miguel Prieto. I was not very satisfied with my score, I had to make improvements
mainly to the middle part, which is slow and the ending is completely new.
When Eckart Preu, director of the Long Beach Orchestra in California and the Portland Symphony in Maine, informed him last year that they would perform Rotor on both sides of the United States, coupled with the fact that a record recording would be made in the Atlantic city, the Mexican composer conceived that it was the ideal time to make adjustments in order to improve that work. The 11-minute piece is available on digital platforms, as part of the album Masks: Music from Mexicoalong with pieces by Arturo Márquez and Ana Lara.
It always happened to me before; I was never fully satisfied with the scores on the day of the premiere and I waited for a new interpretation to correct the errors.
, recognize. However, the pandemic period changed the dynamics, as the volume of orders decreased. The industry is still recovering, they are just programming parts that had been commissioned
. Now the loss of work has allowed us to review some works and be 99 percent satisfied since the premiere: I realized that it is a combination of the fact that now I have more experience and more time, without having to compose against the clock.
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Rotor It is dedicated to Pancho Guzmán, a friend since childhood, a relationship that was strengthened by being both athletes dedicated to athletics and later by sharing a lineup in the metal band, one as guitarist and the other on vocals. Francisco currently lives in Portland, so it was a surprise to arrive at the concert with that city’s orchestra and discover his name in the program.
The OFCM concerts will be held today at 6:00 p.m. and tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., in the Silvestre Revueltas hall of the Ollin Yoliztli (Periférico Sur 5141).