[AL]PATRÓN by Christian Quiñones

2021-22 iQ Test Scholar Christian Quiñones' "[AL]PATRÓN"

Commissioned by icarus Quartet for the 2021-22 iQ Tests

Premiered on April 24, 2022 at the Community Concerts at Second series in Baltimore, MD
Christopher Shannon, director

Recorded on October 9, 2022 by Ben Giroux at the Peabody Conservatory
Filmed on October 10, 2022 by Ben Giroux at Kap2ure Studio
kap2ure.com/studio

About the piece:
“When I first started working on this piece, I knew I wanted to write something related to my childhood. I wanted to evoke those first sounds that got me into music. Soon, I realized, that one of my earliest memories of music is hearing the instrument that I ended up playing, the electric bass, at the fiestas patronales (an originally Spanish festival, where people celebrate a saint in their day), and one thing I remember vividly the incredibly loud and visceral sound from the merengue orchestras that were incredibly popular at the time. As a kid, I recall disliking how loud it was and because of this, I always asked my parents to stay as far away as possible from the speakers. This resulted in a muffled and distant sound where the only thing I could perceive was the booming bass and the incisive güira (a Dominican instrument) in the distance.

For me, this piece is like reliving those memories, starting with the lontano sound that keeps getting closer and closer, until you get consumed by it. This is also reflected in the title of the piece, which comes from the duality found in the word patrón in Spanish. The same word can be used to refer to a patron saint but it can also mean pattern. This duplicity of meanings somehow perfectly describes the way I approached writing this piece, evoking not only those early memories of the fiestas patronales that made me a musician but also dissecting and transforming the essential rhythmic and melodic patterns of that music.”
—Christian Quiñones

About the composer:
Christian Quiñones is a Puerto Rican composer whose music explores concepts such as cultural identity and the intersection between vernacular music, electronic textures, rock, and Latin music.

For 2020 he was selected for the Earshot Underwood Orchestra Readings with the American Composers Orchestra and has received commissions from the Brooklyn Arts Council Inaugural Commission, icarus Quartet, the Bergamot String Quartet, The Goodwin Avenue Trio, and the Victory players where Christian was 2018-2019 composer in residence.

In addition, Christian has also been a fellow at the 2021 Bang on a Can Summer Festival, DePaul University Summer Residency, MIFA Festival, Red Note Music Festival, Connecticut Summerfest, CCI Initiative, and The Zodiac Festival in France where he was awarded the Distinguished Composer award.

Christian is a graduate of the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico (B.M.) and the University of Illinois (M.M), where he was the recipient of the Graduate College Master’s Fellowship. Christian is currently pursuing his Ph.D. as a President’s fellow at Princeton University.

About iQ Tests:
“iQ Tests: a Call for Collaborations” is an annual program that gives two winners the opportunity to collaborate on a new piece with the quartet through an entire season, be featured in live performances, and subsequently recorded with professional audio and video. iQ will takes each of their Scholars through the detailed collaboration process that is behind all of their new works, provide them with the chance to learn how to work with an ensemble, and develop a professional relationship beginning with the presentation and documentation of a new work for pianos and percussion. For more information, including the free application, visit:
https://icarusquartet.org/iq-tests