Details

Duration: 8 minutes

Premiere of duo version:
June 18, 2015
Auditorio AFP Integra - Museo de Arte de Lima (Peru)
Ximena Agurto (soprano), Carmen Escobedo (piano)

Premiere of orchestral version:
February 23, 2020
Recital Hall - Indiana University JSoM
(Bloomington, IN - USA)
Elizaveta Agladze and The Americas Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Diego Barbosa-Vásquez)

About the work

“Lambras”, by Peruvian composer Daniel Cueto, is an example of a Latin American work that is unique in its blend of Romantic European and indigenous Peruvian musical elements. Daniel wrote this work for soprano and piano in 2012, revised it again in 2016, and finally arranged it for soloist and chamber orchestra in 2020.

The work´s title refers to a specific type of willow from the Peruvian Andes. The text used is a piece of Andean folk poetry; Daniel learned of it through its use in another musical work – the “Tres Poemas Líricos” of Peruvian composer Francisco Pulgar Vidal – where it is cited as being of anonymous authorship. It was most likely passed down through oral tradition, possibly first in the quechua language and later in Spanish. It is presented here with an English translation:

Sauce lambras
Préstame tu sombra
Mientras que yo me vaya

Cuando me vaya,
¿A quién hará sombra tu sombra?     

Tu sombra préstame pues ahora 

Willow "lambras"
lend me your shade
While I ́m gone

When I ́m gone
Who will your shade give shade to?

now lend me, please, your shade

Daniel Cueto takes the text to create a three-part musical form, which can be described as A-B-A’. The A and A’ sections feature a melodic style highly influenced by Andean popular song; this is noticeable through an exploration of the higher registers of the soprano voice, a deceptive simplicity of gesture as a path to a deep expressivity, and the use of fragments of pentatonic scales. The B section presents an extended two-part counterpoint, featuring the use of complex rhythmic patterns inspired by those of Southern Andean folk music. In doing so, it reveals the influence of a rhythmically intricate musical tradition that deviates in a fascinating way from what American audiences might typically associate with the term “Latin American rhythm”.

All in all, this work is remarkable for its exploration of both the lyrical and the rhythmic qualities of Andean folk song, and for its unique stylization of those musical elements to create a personal, truly original compositional language. One that transcends the diverse musical genres by which it is informed to create a new musical space.