Canto a tres (for viola and piano) -María Granillo (mexican composer)

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María Granillo is a Mexican composer who completed her undergraduate studies in Composition at the National School of Music of the UNAM, as well as a postgraduate degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and a master's degree at the University of York, in England; In 2006 she obtained a Doctorate in Composition from the University of British  Columbia, in Canada. Her work has been presented at the Cervantino Festival, the Manuel Enríquez New Music Forum, and in some countries such as the US, Canada, London, Ireland, Denmark, to name a few.

    In her musical work, the interest in deriving compositional techniques from musical poetics and sound imagination stands out, as well as the relationships between musical creation, natural phenomena, mythology, and the world of human emotions (Posgrado UNAM, 2009 ). Currently, Ms. Granillo is a professor of the Master's and Doctorate in Music at UNAM.

      The work Canto a tres was written in 1986 and is for viola and piano, the viola starts a few bars, this passage is very expressive for the instrument exploring its middle register, and with the use of crescendos and diminuendos it enriches the sound, it is very noticeable in this beginning the presence of A# that almost always resolves to B. Measures later, the piano is incorporated to give harmonic support to the viola. During the beginning we find changes of measures but, as they are of a calm tempo, they will not be abrupt or noticeable; while developing the work there will be a change of tempo that was prepared by the viola with sixteenth notes and triplets. In this work the composer makes use of various technical resources such as playing sul ponticello (playing very close to the bridge), sul tasto (playing on the fingerboard), tremolos and double strings for the viola. As we mentioned, dynamics (changes in volume intensity) play an important role in the work on both instruments. Undoubtedly a piece that should be taken into account for future presentations and interpretations by the violists.

    On the Soundcloud platform, we can find part of Dr. María Granillo's work and listen to her works: https://soundcloud.com/maria-granillo.

  

    It is worth highlighting the interpretation of this video by Manik 'Duet, with the violist Gerardo Aponte and the pianist Oscar Espinoza, who recently have been performing recitals by Mexican composers, rescuing and disseminating works for viola and piano. You can follow them on their YouTube channel where they share part of their work with this repertoire: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHdKhih69KtTvNCMSPwtplA.

    If you want to know a little more about Mexican composers who have written for the viola, you can visit the following page where you will find a list of works for viola: https://lavioladesdemexico.wixsite.com/luischab.

Thanks for reading and see you next week with more viola music from Mexican composers!

Luis Ángel Chab Dzul.