Trio Ausiàs March, Teo Aparicio-Barberán - Venusy Rey Jr, Aparicio-Barberán: The BenAmil Project (2024)

Tracklist

01. BenAmil: No. 1, Xàtiva (For Piano, Oboe, Alto Saxophone and Bassoon)
02. BenAmil: No. 2, Puesta de sol en la albufera de Valencia (Sunset at the Valencia lagoon) (For Piano, Oboe, Alto Saxophone and Bassoon)
03. BenAmil: No. 3, Los perros y los gatos de BenAmil (The dogs and cats of BenAmil) (For Piano, Oboe, Alto Saxophone and Bassoon)
04. BenAmil: No. 4, La quietud del tiempo: Verano en Enguera (Stillness of time: Summer at Enguera) (For Piano, Oboe, Alto Saxophone and Bassoon)
05. BenAmil: No. 5, Ven a BenAmil (Come to BenAmil) (For Piano, Oboe, Alto Saxophone and Bassoon)
06. Alternate Lines (For Piano, Oboe and Bassoon)
07. Bachiana Mexicana No. 6: No. 1, Prelude (For Alto Saxophone)
08. Bachiana Mexicana No. 6: No. 2, Courrente (For Alto Saxophone)
09. Bachiana Mexicana No. 6: No. 3, Aria (For Alto Saxophone)
10. Bachiana Mexicana No. 6: No. 4, Gigue (For Alto Saxophone)

The BenAmil Project was born upon an invitation made by Spanish dancer and musical patron, Cochu Aparicio, to Venus Rey Jr for an artist residency in Spain, at the BenAmil estate located in Enguera, 40 miles Southwest from Valencia. The project presented by Venus Rey Jr was the composition of a musical work named BenAmil which had to be inspired by the estate and by that region of the Valencian Community.
Spanish composer, saxophonist, conductor and scholar Teo Aparicio-Barberán took the musical coordination in his hands and was in contact with Rey from the beginning. Aparicio-Barberán invited Valencian trio Aussiàs March to premier and to record the new work by Venus Rey Jr.
The composition of BenAmil had two phases. The first one took place in Mexico City during the early Spring 2023, when Venus Rey Jr wrote the initial sketches and conceived the movements as he was preparing his trip to Spain. The second phase was in Spain during May and June, when the composer arrived to the art residency and completed the work.
BenAmil was premiered on June 24th at the BenAmil estate with a choreography and poetic performance ideated by Spanish flamenco dancers Pila Mohedano and Jesús Pérez. Two works were added to the Project: Bachiana Mexicana No. 6 for Alto Saxophone, by Venus Rey Jr, and Alternate Lines, for piano, oboe and fagot, by Teo Aparicio-Barberán.

Rey Jr: BenAmil
BenAmil has five movements. The first movement –Rápido (quickly), in 7/8– is a depiction of the mediaeval town of Xàtiva and its impressive millenary Castle, which was built throughout centuries, first by the ancient Iberos, and then by the Romans, the Arabs and the Aragoneses. A Moorish accent permeates the music.
The second movement –Con calma (with calm)– evokes a sunset at the Valencia Lagoon, a natural protected area located 6 miles south the city of Valencia. The Arabs called this site “Sun Mirror”. The beauty of the sun and the sky reflected in the water is breathtaking.
The third movement –Ágil (agile)– is a Scherzo which alternates 7/8 and 6/8 bars. The composer sets to music the pets of BenAmil playing along the garden and the olive field. There were three dogs –Telma, Luis and Brutus– and four cats –Felipe, Chatuneta, Osi y Reineta.
Time goes slow and hot in Enguera during the Summer. Everything seems to be still, and this arouses a sense of intimacy –not the intimacy of oneself, but the intimacy of time. This is what the fourth movement –Lento, pero no tanto (Slowly, but not so much)– is about.
The finale –Lento, pero sostenido (Slowly, but steady)–, constructed with materials derived from the previous movements, is a meditation on time, beauty and existence. Such a meditation can only be reached in proper conditions, amidst nature and stillness, in a profound atmosphere of magic and reality. The BenAmil estate is the idoneous place to write such a music.

Aparicio-Barberán: Alternate Lines
The ability the develop thematically tonal and atonal ideas in a single work through rhythmic structures upon which the whole material derives, is a characteristic found in some composers from the Twentieth Century. In this aesthetics, Spanish composer Teo Aparicio-Barberán finds a point of inflection between tonality and atonality. Written in 2022, Alternate Lines has three sections within a single movement: moderato, andante and allegro vivace. All three sections feature generating melodic motifs that give cohesion to the piece. This motifs are interchangeable in every voice –oboe, bassoon, piano– thus the title of the work.

Rey Jr: Bachiana Mexicana No. 6
This work was written in 2019 and was premiered by saxophonist Ximena Constantino at the International Sax Festival in Peru, in September of that year. In the series of compositions named “Bachianas mexicanas”, Venus Rey Jr uses baroque forms and elements of Mexican Art. This work has four movements: Prelude, Courrente, Aria and Gigue. It is an interesting experiment because the alto saxophone, an instrument that did not exist in the baroque era, performs baroque dances.
The Prelude has an atmosphere of melancholy. The Courrente is a modern version of the baroque dance, but in 5/4 and 6/4 bars. The Aria is a free virtuoso slow movement. The finale is a Gigue in 3/8 that explores the vast possibilities of the alto saxophone.

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