Sonances, for string orchestra

Sonances for strings is based on folk dances from South America. Its music is motivated by the joyous feeling experienced by musicians when they gather to improvise. I made up the word Sonances figuring that the title "Consonances (or Dissonances) for strings" would have seemed too academic. Just as one might call a folk violinist a fiddler or a folk harpist a harper, a plain, unprefixed sonances puts the music in a popular context and suggests that the experience is more about sounding (or sonancing) the music than it is about analyzing its sound. This is not to say that Sonances for strings is purely folk music. In fact, I believe the piece reveals my immense fascination with compositional craft and my awe towards the work of the great masters. Still, it aims at staying fresh and spontaneous with simple and direct ideas, much in keeping with folk spirit. Each of the three movements of the piece is organized in a symmetrical pattern, with a central section containing the more adventu