Alfonso Leng, La muerte de Alsino, opening section.
The classical music of Latin America unfolded along an entirely different path than that of Europe or the United States. In fact, the sequential development that we learned about in music history class, that is, concerning the distinct periods ending with “ism,” such as classicism or modernism, just don’t necessarily correspond to the way in which classical music developed in Latin America.
Although there may be other reasons why Latin American classical music is extremely under represented on symphony programs across our country, there is at least one identifiable explanation for this, which is that this music is difficult to “map” according to the terminology to which we have become accustomed; indeed, I believe that this issue has, whether we have thought about it in this way or not, negatively contributed to our present-day circumstances.
A good example of this problem with mapping is La muerte de Alsino, which was composed in 1921 by Chilean Alfonso Leng. (I recently conducted this piece during the Latin American Art Music festival held at the University of Kansas). The work is based on a still-popular novel about a boy whose dream was to fly, but when wings miraculously grew out of his back, the lad’s now-bad fortune leads to a tragic death.
Considered the first “tone poem” to have been composed in Chile, soon thereafter Chilean musicologists began to compare its style to that of Strauss or Scriabin. Ironically, however, even well after its premiere in 1921, not a note of either composer’s music had yet to be heard in Chile. In other words, any stylistic relationship between La muerte and European post romanticism cannot be described as deliberate; rather, it is entirely coincidental. Hence, we must not use, nor as a conductor, approach this music as if it is nothing more than one more example of European post romanticism. In other words, Alfonso Leng’s style is completely his own.
Nevertheless, a close reading of the score reveals two essential elements that, I believe, can lead to a very sensitive and faithful interpretation of this work.
First, although there is no battle, per se, Alsino’s story shares some elements with the concept of a Pyrrhic victory, in that his death comes about after great personal cost. Because of this, from the very beginning there is a pervasive sense of tragedy or foreboding throughout nearly the entire score. Indeed, the few elements that could be described as cheerful or hopeful are but fleeting moments. With this in mind, a conductor would be well advised to say a few words to the orchestra about the color and shape of the sound; that is, that it should be focused on lower frequencies while at the same time eschewing any edginess.
Second, Leng uses a persistent motivic pattern that consists of two notes, of which the second note is a major second above the first. Sometimes this pattern is exactly repeated, while mostly, it is repeated sequentially, thereby creating a rising melodic line. In both cases, I find this motive to be strongly suggestive of the beating of wings; and, to enhance this visually, to the extent possible I conduct in two. For example, I would direct you to the above video clip, in which I am leading the afore-mentioned KU student orchestra in the first minute or so of La muerte.
Lastly, Alsino’s is a tempestuous story, and because of this, there are many waves of crescendo followed by decrescendo. Nevertheless, these moments need to be carefully metered so as to reserve the size and force of the sound for the work’s true climax, which begins at rehearsal letter W.
I hope that these few words inspire you to consider performing what is, in my view, a truly inspiring work.