Mezquida (Menorca, 1987) presents his composition
Talaiot for the first time in Menorca. This concert is his debut in symphonic composition.
The Menorcan musician has developed a dazzling musical career, championed by his eclecticism and versatility, which has led him to present his own musical projects in more than 40 countries on four continents.
He has already recorded 95 albums (27 as leader and/or co-leader of his own projects) and has received more than twenty awards for his musical, recording and concert activity. These are figures that today already point to the artist as one of the most brilliant and promising appearances on the Spanish music scene.
Talaiot is a work inspired by the Talayotic culture of Menorca. What was it about this culture that most inspired you to compose the piece?
Some of the most profound sensory and mystical experiences I have had in my life on the island of Menorca have been on nights with a full moon in some of the Talayotic sites. Precious hours of meditation or celebration, intimate or shared, that stretched over time and became eternal hours that I have never forgotten, in which sensitivity and connection with oneself, space and nature, the sounds of the animals that communicate with each other, the silence of our land, the skies, the stars, the wind... Everything together made me feel powerful things in these powerful rocks and in a unique telluric space.
Undoubtedly life experiences like this continue to be the greatest inspiration for later musical revelations such as the subsequent composition of Talaiot, my first concerto for solo piano and symphony orchestra.
How do you think music can capture and transmit the essence of such a rich and ancient cultural heritage as the Talayotic?
Art is expression, it is freedom. I also have that feeling when I think of the musical journey I devised and dedicated to the talayots and Menorca, in this 50-minute journey, which goes from the remoteness of antiquity to the most joyful moments of celebration and collective joy. It is a journey that goes through many states, from introspection to maximum effusiveness.
Menorca is your home and source of inspiration throughout your career. How is your personal connection to the island reflected in Talaiot?
My way of being, playing and living music is linked to the skies of Menorca, and also to all the cities I have visited, all the people I have loved and everything I have lived, laughed, played, cried, felt, in some way. The inspiration for the beauty, the peace, the calm, the light, the colours, the power and the finitude of Menorca remains crucial to the way I am and the way I make music. In turn, art allows me to express myself with the desire to create music that is a personal and subjective abstraction of who I am and where I am.
What musical or compositional elements have you used to evoke the spirit of the talayots and the atmosphere of prehistoric Menorca?
The piece begins with an introduction of strings that comes as if from the distance, the antiquity, the mystery, and little by little it becomes daylight, and the activity and movement of people waking up, celebrating life and space begins. There are also references to the Sardinian music of the Vitti tenors, which I love, and which is also a subtle tribute to the great twinned heritage we have (and which very few recognise or talk about) with the giant island of Sardinia.
The piece continues with forceful, stoic, rough and grandiloquent passages such as the rocks of the talayots, which could be more Beethovenian, classical moments. And then it contrasts with more introspective, meditative, mysterious passages. Finally the piece culminates again with joy and festivity.
How would you describe the relationship between the music and the landscape of Menorca in Talaiot?
This is very subjective and relative, but I think that those who know me know that I like to make music that can also be very landscape-like, expressive, and in which many influences, many styles, not only from Menorca but from the world, or rather from the cosmos, coexist! Disparate elements that are also very connected to the earth but which are also sometimes very volatile, a lot of skies and air. In Talaiot there is rock, there is air, there is light, silence and mystical moments.
Could you tell us a bit about the creative process behind Talaiot? How did the work develop from conception to completion?
I composed quite fluidly many passages and moments that I think had personality, and I felt that because of the way I conceived the piece and the motifs that appeared. I preferred to offer a journey with uninterrupted music, about 50 minutes at a time, without doing the traditional three or four individual and separate movements, as most of the most classical piano and orchestra concertos in history are constructed.
Originally the piece had no title, nor did I think of the talayots until a few months into its creation, when, in a dream, I had the revelation that
the forcefulness of the music and the more meditative moments connected very much with my way of understanding and living the talayots. And the image appeared to me, and I felt that it had a special strength, and that it was my tribute, and at the same time it was something original because I don't know of any other authors who have dedicated a concert to the talayots!
When I had finished the skeleton of the composition, I got in touch with Francesc Llompart, my dear friend from Maó, a great musician and composer, with whom we began to orchestrate the whole piece, already imagining all the sonorities for orchestra. In the end, there were 120 pages of work and 1,000 pages of parts for all the sixty musicians of a full symphony orchestra. A work that could not have been done without the work, talent and complicity of my friend Francesc.
These concerts celebrate the first anniversary of the inscription of Talayotic Menorca as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What does it mean to you to be part of this celebration?
It is a great joy and a real coincidence, since I composed the piece during 2022, and I premiered it at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona in March 2023, that is, there were still a few months to go before the news from UNESCO arrived, and then the excitement of presenting the piece in Menorca, in Ciutadella and Maó, became even more evident.
The Consell Insular and the managers of the theatres have worked hard so that we can present the piece with the Orquestra Simfònica de Balears in two concerts, which will be different: a slightly smaller version with the orchestra for Ciutadella, because the Teatre des Born cannot hold everyone, and the full version with the symphony orchestra at the Principal in Maó.
How do you feel Talaiot aligns with the spirit of this commemoration?
It's a piece that in general terms is a party, it's a real celebration, and when you listen to it, you'll see what I mean. I hope people enjoy it and that we can play it on more occasions.
What do you hope concertgoers will experience when listening to Talaiot in this special context?
That they let themselves go, and that everyone thinks or feels what they want. Some people will see talayots, but others may see stars, or see nothing at all, and that's fine. This is what art is all about.
In your opinion, what role does contemporary music play in the preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage?
It is crucial that new creations continue to be promoted, taking care of culture, promoting the enormous wealth we have in Menorca, the history, the tradition, and the beauty that makes us unique on planet Earth.
Most Menorcans are not aware that in these 45 km of land we have a large number of cultural events and traditions that we must promote, care for and certainly preserve. It is our treasure and everything is very fragile; if we are not aware of it, in a few years the land, resources, heritage, etc. can easily deteriorate.
Do you have future plans to continue exploring the relationship between music and Menorca's cultural heritage in your upcoming works?
Yes, I have many other things in the pipeline, but to answer your question, I have a very special duet with my friend and great singer Anna Ferrer, with whom I am looking forward to giving more concerts with a repertoire of beautiful Menorcan songs. They are not the best known songs, but they are a reflection of the sensitivity and rich cultural heritage of our land.