by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello everyone! This month we’re taking a sharp turn away from the late-Romantic tonality of Ethel Smyth to the ground-breaking work of Roque Cordero. Perhaps the only well-known Panamanian composer to this day, Cordero got his start writing music for wind ensembles at the age of fifteen. Incredibly, at the age of twenty-one, Cordero also founded the National Orchestra of Panama, for the establishment of which he wrote his first orchestral work. His works range from tonal pieces from his younger years to far more avant-garde sounds, embracing rhythms and phrasing styles from Panamanian folk music while blending them with Modernist techniques.
For the horn, Cordero composed two chamber works: Music for Five Brass, a brass quintet, (available here), and Variations and Theme for Five, a woodwind quintet (available here). Both are incredibly challenging works, requiring great rhythmic dexterity and independence of line. Not for the faint of heart, Cordero’s woodwind quintet would make a great competition piece. The group that can give a convincing performance must be absolutely in sync, and furthermore must be highly conscious of texture and color. Challenge accepted, anyone?
