PASEMISÍ, PASEMISÁ

Instrumentation:

string quartet

Duration:

9 mins.

Program notes:

Pasemisí, Pasemisá is about my own childhood in Puerto Rico. Originally, I started composing this piece as an exploration of how different Latin rhythms from the Afro-Caribbean tradition were interconnected. But as the piece began to develop, I suddenly realized that all of these musical ideas were rooted in the musical ethos of my childhood. The piece opens up with the performers saying “Pasemisí, Paseimisá”, the opening text of a children game I used to play when I was growing up. This playful texture is accompanied with the use of “body percussion” a sound that is not only reminiscent of other childhood games, but also reflects on my own musical personality, where I am constantly playing rhythms with my body. All of this intimate and nostalgic texture and atmosphere is enveloped in musical references, rhythms and small quotes from reggaetón, eighties music, hip-hop, and rock. Music I did not necessarily like as a kid, but the music that defined my childhood.