The Zia are a small Native American group in New Mexico who use a four-pointed symbol that refers to the four directions, as well as the four seasons and certain other concepts (you may have seen it on New Mexico's state flag). Here it indicates the international nature of the program, although the bulk of the music comes from the Western Hemisphere, the specialty of the Del Sol String Quartet. Bartók's influence looms large in the music of all these composers. In the opening Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout of Gabriela Lena ...
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The Zia are a small Native American group in New Mexico who use a four-pointed symbol that refers to the four directions, as well as the four seasons and certain other concepts (you may have seen it on New Mexico's state flag). Here it indicates the international nature of the program, although the bulk of the music comes from the Western Hemisphere, the specialty of the Del Sol String Quartet. Bartók's influence looms large in the music of all these composers. In the opening Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout of Gabriela Lena Frank, a composer whose ancestry includes Chinese, Peruvian, and Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, there's also something of the tense South American modernist idiom of Alberto Ginastera. Frank moves back in the direction of Peruvian roots, however, in her use of the string quartet to approximate traditional instruments, which can be quite startling. The annotators of the album are correct in citing Lou Harrison as another inspiration for the other composers on this album and for their uses...
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