Page 68 - CJJuneJuly25
P. 68
TM
PROJECT : ENCORE NEWS
A Catalog of Contemporary Choral Music
ProjectEncore.org
Music as storytelling, based in an emotion -
One of Carlos’ early memories of music is the Venezuelan tonada, which is an a
cappella work song from the plains of his country of origin. His attraction is both to
the beautiful melodies themselves, and to the storytelling aspect of them. He finds
that young people today in particular, want to talk about their feelings, and how we
process our feelings.
Carlos speaks about one of his pieces, “Ayúdame! (Venezuelan Plea for Life)”* that
grew out of a very specific feeling:
“It started with feeling hopeless. How can I help from here?”
Seeing his country and his family suffering hunger, sickness, even thirst, left
him feeling helpless, with so little he could do from afar (in Houston, studying
composition, by then). He ended up recognizing that, although he could not directly
change much, he could help with getting information out to more people through
his music. In “Ayúdame!” Carlos “explored raw sounds,” and says he feels the piece
speaks with clear, straightforward simplicity, as a result. And he speaks to the
emotional impact of doing this kind of creative work on the composer:
“As composers, we need to take care of ourselves, to not come
out of the process all [emotionally] bruised.”
Beyond the music of his native Venezuela, Carlos speaks of Arvo Pärt, Christopher
Cerrone, Kevin Puts and Ivo Antognini as composers whose work he follows. He
calls himself “a singer first,” and frequently refers to the experience of singing in
choirs as his fundamental impetus to compose. Initially writing almost exclusively
“slow and beautiful pieces,” he was ultimately challenged through his master’s
degree training to explore a broader range of emotions and tempos.
* “Ayúdame!” is one of 8 scores by Carlos Cordero, endorsed as of exceptional value in the PROJECT :
ENCORE catalog of contemporary choral music.
PROJECT : ENCORE™ is sponsored by Ember Choral Arts
EmberArts.org
