Commissioned by and dedicated to Duo Signal.

Baritone saxophone: Alejandro Oliván.
Trombone: Adrián Albaladejo.

Recorded by Santiago Villar (Musician's eye)
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Programme notes:

"Vers l’essence de l’écoute" is a clear example of the aesthetic path I have been following in recent years. I have been taking away many of the complexities and musical density that was inherent to my previous work, in order to look for the essence of what constitutes my musical language.

The compositional process of "Vers l’essence de l’écoute" began with my fascination with the concept of Ma in Japanese Noh theatre. Ma could be very roughly defined as blank space, interval between actions, sounds or words; a pause that has content in it. I soon discarded the idea of Ma as an articulatory element for the piece; nevertheless, the conceptual implications of it are still underlying.   

"Vers l’essence de l’écoute" is symbolically and poetically a process of surrendering to silence, to pause, to void. The first minute and a half of the piece is illustrating this process: both players are required to play a nearly constant sound, either by the use of circular breathing or by finding strategies to make the sound seamless. Music is pushing the players to breathe as little as possible. But, in the end, breathing is going to be needed; pause is therefore inexorable.

That reluctance of accepting pause, void, but in the end needing to surrender to it, is what articulates the dramaturgy of the piece and all its symbolic content.

Vers l'essence de l'écoute (2021) | Baritone saxophone and trombone

El manantial del Tiempo | for guitar and electronics (2022) Electronic teaser

Commissioned by Versoi Ensemble with support from the US Embassy in Finland.

Lienzo de luz  (2021) | for string quartet [live recording]

Performed by From Silence duo: Amaia Miranda (guitar)and Isabel Gualda (flute).

Recording and mastering: Ferran Conangla

Inspired by the image "Intenso azul" by Amaia Miranda

Seed of colour, for flute and guitar (2014)

Electronic excerpt of the work originally composed for CrossingLines Ensemble, including tenor saxophone, percussion, piano and electronics.

Ex essentia machinae - electronics [excerpt]

Live recorded at Kapelle Adullam-Stiftung, Basel (Switzerland) by Jan Gubser

Conductor: Jürg Henneberger
Soprano: Maria Pujades
Bass Clarinet: Azra Ramic
Trombone: Adrián Albaladejo
Cello: Matthieu Gutbut
Piano: Assel Abilseitova

The intimate expressiveness of El suspiro que no cesa arose inspired by two different fragments of poetry. These poems have in common a very abstract and symbolic approach to the text composition. They suggest images just like fragrances, mixing loss, eroticism, death and different understandings of the phenomenon of vigil within their words. Nevertheless, the understanding of the meaning of these words by the listener is not intended nor necessary; the text inspire the character of the music, but in many occasions this text is used fragmented, as a source of phonetic material, making the words hence unintelligible. 
The listener will find from very intricate passages of fragmented sonorities to moments of fierce stillness, all of them articulated by a meticulous treatment of timbre.

El suspiro que no cesa (2017)| for soprano, bass clarinet, trombone, cello and piano

Performed by Ensemble Suono Giallo
Flute: Andrea Biagini
Saxophone: Michele Bianchini
Percussion: Laura Mancini
Piano: Simone Nocchi

Commissioned by Ensemble Suono Giallo and IlSuono Contemporary Music Week

Live recorded at Teatro degli Illuminati, Città di Castello (Italy).

Invocazione all'ignoto (2018)| bass flute, baritone saxophone, percussion and piano

Work originally written for amplified percussion and electronics. Premiered by Virva Kuusi at the Soiva Akatemia Festival in Helsinki.

Re-Equalised for soundcloud.

γῆ - for percussion and electronics (2017)| electronic excerpt

Dedicated to Sergi Ramis.

Included in the CD "Abans que t'adormis. Sergio Ramis in memoriam". Recorded, mixed and mastered by Miquel Llinàs at Sonoteque studios

Performers
Alto flute: Pere Sansó Crespí
Saxophone: Joan Jordi Oliver Arcos
Bass Clarinet: José Manuel Hita
Cello: Esteban Belinchón
Piano: Tomeu Moll-Mas

...frente a la obscura lumbre... (2018)| alto flute, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, cello and piano

Commissioned by the Symphonic Orchestra of Castile and León (OSCYL).

Performed at:
Miguel Delibes Concert Hall (Valladolid) on January 9th and 12th, 2019 
Palacio Euskalduna (Bilbao) on January 10th and 11th, 2019

Live recorded at Palacio Euskalduna
©OSCYL

Figura de luz indómita (2018)| for large orchestra

Commissioned by the Castile and León Symphony Orchestra (OSCYL). Part of the tryptic "Paisajes de Castilla y León"

Premiered on November the 14th and the 15th at the Auditorio Miguel Delibes in Valladolid.

Live recorded at the Auditorio Miguel Delibes

Evocación del monasterio de San Pedro De Arlanza (2019) | for large orchestra

www.nuno-fernandez-ezquerra.com

For audiovisual and electronic works visit:
https://soundcloud.com/nuno-fernandez-ezquerra

BRIEF BIO:
Refusing aesthetic and conceptual shallowness, Nuño's works are characterised by a fastidious attention to detail and the quest to create a meaningful and impactful experience to the audience. With a critically open listening, his musical language has metabolised radical elements from other genres such as advanced kinds of electronic music, jazz, post-rock or metal, influencing his aesthetics in a coherent and cohesive way.

Born in 1992, Nuño studied at ESMUC (Barcelona) and at the Sibelius Academy of Helsinki, under the guidance of Agustí Cahrles, Mauricio Sotelo and Lauri Kilpiö. Additionally, he has complemented his education with composers such as Kaija Saariaho and Raphaël Cendo (amongst others).

His work has been awarded several prizes internationally: winner of the National Composition Contest of the Castile and León Symphony Orchestra (2017), winner of the the International Call for Scores & Commission 2017 of the ensemble Suono Giallo and ilSUONO Contemporary Music Week, and the 3rd prize of the contest “Jóvenes Compositores 2014” of the SGAE/CNDM Foundation.

His pieces have been programmed in numerous festivals: such as the Klang! Concert Series, UNM Festival, the 7th Contemporary Music Concert Series of the BBVA Foundation, Festival MIXTUR, OUT.SIDE 2016 Concert Series and the regular season of the Castile and León Symphony Orchestra, working with ensembles such as Uusinta Ensemble,  Zagros Ensemble, CrossingLines, and Ensemble Temporum amongst others.

Nuño Fernández Ezquerra

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