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Projection 1: The Tree of Life

Full Orchestra (pgs. 13-34)

FOR PIANO SOLO

Our world is Baroque: in its architecture, in the intricacy and complexity of its nature and vegetation, in the polychromy that surrounds us, in the telluric impulse of the phenomena to which we are still subjected.”

                 — Alejo Carpentier

About the piece:

Eugenio D’Ors describes the Baroque as “something multiple, diverse, enormous” that mirrors society’s rich multiplicity of expression. From Thai palaces and Indian Solkattu rhythms to Iranian mosques and Mayan sculptures, the Baroque emerges as a creative force—an impulse that reappears cyclically throughout history. Like Hispanic-American Baroque art, it often incubates mestizaje, the fusion of cultures and influences.

In contrast to Academicism—a style typical of settled and self-assured periods—the Baroque arises in times of transformation, mutation, and innovation. Baroque tendencies project themselves forward, flourishing at the height of a civilization, or when a new social order is on the verge of emerging.  

The essence of Academicism (or Classicism) is the concept built from ideas, symbols, and structures—the “projections” that form its world. Central to these projections is the line: the line that defines, separates, and contains, and the line that connects one concept to the next, weaving a network of meanings that structures the conceptual world.

Yet, “our world is Baroque,” as are our minds, emotions, and ways of processing experience, each marked by diversity, complexity, and immensity. In this way, our connection to reality reflects the Baroque, as our minds continuously interface with, and inevitably blend into, the complexity of the world around us.

Music, as a proto-linguistic form of expression, is a line that links one moment to the next, a past self with a future self. But unlike maps and images, music’s line fully materializes only once the piece concludes, letting it operate at a proto-conceptual level. In music, the symbol is never complete until after it has passed. Projections I: The Tree of Life embraces these attributes, inviting listeners to delve into the line, immerse themselves in its depths, and press against the intangible fabric of the ‘concept’ that often mediates the relationship between mind and world.

Instrumentation: Piano solo

INSTRUMENTATION
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