Fantasia No. 1, For orchestra

Fantasia No. 1 is an orchestral piece that I composed in 2020 during the lockdown caused by the first wave of Covid-19. I had been in Riyadh for a few months and I had the opportunity to get in touch with the culture and music of the place. So those melodies that previously had an exotic flavor became the norm in my daily life and, almost without wanting to, I began to assimilate their taste and use it in my compositions.

The Fantasia opens with a melody with an exotic flavor reinforced by the ostinato and ritual rhythm played by piano, harp, low strings and percussions. The violins, flutes and horns collect the vibrations left in the air and crystallize them in a delicate texture.

In the second section the rhythmic cell of the main theme gives life to a new ostinato, more lively melody, performed by violins I, flutes and clarinets that build an elaborate micro-polyphonic texture that gives it a sense of three-dimensionality. Two ostinatos accompany the new melody: the first performed by piano, violins II and violas, with the trumpets and trombones reinforcing the chords on the upbeats; the second performed by the bassoons, supported by the low strings. The percussions continue the initial ostinato, reinforcing its character.

In the third section the initial meody returns, with its ritual character which is even stronger after what happened in the second section.

In the fourth section of the piece completely new elements dominate the scene, giving an exciting sense of dance and movement. Piano, bassoons, brasses and double basses play an ostinato reinforced by the bass drum, while the rest of the strings and woodwinds play a new theme whose accents are marked by the timpani. This theme is divided into two main rhythmic cells, each corresponding to a semi-phrase: the first is in contratempo with the ostinato; the second instead shares the same accentuation disguised as a micro-polyphonic texture. The alternation between these two cells becomes ever closer and leads to a return of the melodic idea that appeared in the second section. The whole thing is then repeated one tone higher.

In the last section the initial theme returns, which then slowly fades away in the trill glissandi of the violas, together with the rhythm of the bass drum which gradually dies away.