Solipsismo (2019) – Erick Tapia (Mexico)
It is a work of introspection and internal reflection, which is managing harmonic parameters and colors together with the conviction of register to create a dark environment that gradually becomes bright as a reflection of freedom.
Inscribed at the top of the score:
En la montaña vacía no se ve un hombre,
sólo se oye el eco de voces humanas.
Vuelven las sombras, entran profundo en el bosque,
otra vez brilla el Sol, sobre los líquenes verdes.
Wang Wei – El parquet de los ciervos
In the empty mountain there is not a man to be seen,
only the echo of human voices is heard.
The shadows return, they go deep into the forest,
the Sun shines again, on the green lichens.
Wang Wei – The Deer Park
Ann adds: One of the definitions that Merriam-Webster lists for “solipsism” is “extreme egocentrism.” Many small acts of solipsism have brought about the current climate crisis, so I’m including this piece as a reflection on thinking beyond the self.
You’ll hear some repeated-note motives that I think musically reflect the idea of being absorbed in one thing. Most of the piece is written out, though there are moments with improvisatory elements. The work also reminds me a bit of the harmonic language of Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera.
Erick Tapia: Born in Mexico City on November 27, 1991. He began his composition studies with Maestro Leonardo Coral at the Faculty of Music of the UNAM. He completed his professional studies with Gabriela Ortiz and Francisco Cortés-Álvarez at the Faculty of Music of the UNAM.
He has been a scholarship holder under the ‘Cátedra Extraordinaria Arturo Márquez at UNAM’ in 2019, there he took classes with this renowned Mexican composer for a year. Likewise, in 2020 he formed part of the Young Creators program of the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA).
He has received multiples prizes; 1st prize of the first national composition contest for Symphony Orchestra 2020 #EstarMejor of the School of Fine Arts of the Universidad Panamericana. 1st prize of the 2021-2022 Emerging Composers Fellowship – Concertia, Houston, Texas, USA. 3rd place winner in the Orchestra Competition “Raices” 2021 organised by the Secretary of Culture of Jalisco and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jalisco.
In 2021 he was the first Mexican student selected by the Central Conservatory of Musical Beijing to perform a piece at the International Forum of the Alliance for Music Education-CCOM.
His music has been performed by different soloists and ensembles from Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Colombia, China and Finland. Likewise, his work has been performed by important ensembles in Mexico such as; Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Orquesta Juvenil Eduardo Mata de la UNAM.
Ann DuHamel 