THE STORY BEHIND: Frank's "Haillí-Serenata" (East Coast Premiere)

On April 9, Bramwell Tovey and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra will present American Classics with pianist Jon Kimura Parker.

THE STORY BEHIND: Frank's Haillí-Serenata

Title: Haillí-Serenata
Composer: Gabriela Lena Frank (1972- )
Last time performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic: This is a RI Philharmonic Orchestra premiere. This piece is scored for strings.

The Story:

The familial history of Gabriela Lena Frank has been the central motivating factor in her music. Frank’s mother comes from a Peruvian/Chinese background; her father is of Lithuanian Jewish descent. Born in Berkeley, California, her higher education as a composer took place at The University of Michigan, where she was encouraged to explore her “roots” through her music. One of Frank’s admirable achievements was the creation of a music conservatory, The Gabriela Frank Creative Academy of Music. Focusing on performance and composition, the Academy offers music education both in person and online.
 
Having travelled extensively throughout South America, Frank’s music often reflects her studies of Latin American folklore, incorporating poetry, mythology, and native musical styles. These she pours into a uniquely Western classical (yet personal) framework. In a note for the publication of Haillí-Serenata, she wrote:

 "In October of 2011, my mother and I visited the highland city of Cajamarca, Perú, the site of the Inca Empire’s defeat by the Spanish in the northern Andes. The proud city’s mix of pre-Hispanic archeological sites with colonial religious architecture was the dignified backdrop to cantadores mestizos, or mixed-race singers, accompanying themselves on guitars while praying to ancestors. Their mix of Quechua, the indigenous language of the Incas, and Spanish is reflected in the title of this short work (Haillí means “prayer” in Quechua), a brief serenade to the past."

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra commissioned Frank to compose Haillí-Serenata in 2020. The work was to be premiered that year by the CSO. However, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled the orchestra to cancel its entire season. Haillí-Serenata was finally premiered in Chicago on December 9, 2021 by the CSO conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada. To prepare the audience, the CSO Association published an Internet interview-article with Frank written by Nancy Malitz. It is rich in Frank’s remarks regarding the work, including these:
 
“Haillí is not a Spanish word. It’s a Quechua word,” she explained, referring to a language of indigenous natives of the Peruvian Andes. “A haillí is an indigenous form often translated as prayer. I wanted to give my piece a bit more of that feeling because of the high emotions that were expected that [election] week, and so it is still lyrical and songful and tuneful but with a prayerful flavor.”*
 
“The Andes people live high in the mountains, and when you are high up, you become very conscious of breath. So the wind instruments take on an important role, and one of them, the quena, is very close to the Japanese shakuhachi flute in sound. It has similar kinds of colors, and I have always loved those sounds. My job for a piece like this, as a composer trained in the Western canon, is to use my own vocabulary to evoke non-Western sounds I want with the instruments we have, and so I have to get creative with this overlap, using what we have in common.”*
 
“You hear a lot of strong guitar-like sounds in Andean music, from little instruments like the ukulele and mid-size ones like a Spanish guitar, for example. And if you play my Andean music on a Western instrument, like a piano, you may not realize it culturally, but what you are hearing are those strong guitar-like sounds that evoke the strumming. So is it Andean? Not exactly. But it’s still me.”

(*Experience, in an untitled article by Nancy Malitz. © 2021 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association).

Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, Zell Music Director, through the generous support of the Edward F. Schmidt Family Fund.

Program Notes by Dr. Michael Fink © 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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