Program Notes

The title translates to Parables in the Cave and refers to Plato’s “Parable of the Cave,” a dialogue between Plato’s brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, who is the narrator. In a nutshell, Socrates describes a group of people who have been chained to the wall of a cave their entire lives, without ever experiencing reality. The prisoners watch the shadows projected in the wall of the cave by a fire behind them and ascribe names and meanings to the distorted shadows of various objects and passer-bys outside. For (Plato’s) Socrates the shadows are as true a view the prisoners will ever see of reality. For him, philosophy (as well as knowledge and education) helps liberating oneself from such a cave, thus leading to a better understand of the world around them.

This allegory caught my attention in respect to the composer’s original inntentions in a musical work, in itself is unstable, ethereal, and multiple.  Beyond the numerous interpretative stages involving the creative act, they are ultimately forced to surrender to the “distorted” subjective eye (or ear) of the beholder.

The flute material is distorted, elastically molded, and presented from various angles, resembling the deformed shadows of the cave.  I also use parabolic shapes, which influence various musical elements, such as melody, harmony, dynamics, gestures. Finally, the cave is represented by a large resonant acoustical space, with the incorporation of reverb and amplification.

— Felipe Lara