Tropicalia (1991)

Composer note
After returning to Puerto Rico from Germany (where I was studying composition with György Ligeti from 1979-1982) I composed Salsa para vientos [a woodwind quintet], and since then I have been incorporating different elements of tropical origins in my works. These elements are not only the obvious musical ones, but like a painter I have tried to capture in sound the vivid and strong sensorial (visual) elements that can be experienced in my homeland.

Tropicalia represents the culmination of this 'tropical' period of exploration. The three movements are soundscapes that evoke both the music and the magical atmosphere of the Caribbean.

In 'Foliage' the musical lines form entangled rhythmic-melodic patterns which are very similar to the complex green canvases found in the rain forest.

'Nocturne' evokes the night, something that since childhood I regarded as magic. The sounds produced by the tree frogs (named 'coquí' by the aboriginal Taino Indians that inhabited Puerto Rico when Columbus first arrived in 1493) and the beautiful light patterns formed by fireflies are depicted in this movement.

The last movement, 'Celebration,' is about rhythm.

— Roberto Sierra