Tonada is a folk music that originated in Spain and later every country in South America developed its own style. In Chile, it’s usually characterised by slow-moving melodies, in an almost meditative state.

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In this work, I wanted to recreate the essence of the rural landscape, which is where this music comes from. The countryside holds a deep personal connection for me as I spent most of my childhood summers visiting my grandmother there. These experiences left vivid and resonant sounding memories in my mind: the noise of a rattling roof, the wind from afar, Tonada music being played in the house next door.

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The drama of this composition draws inspiration from the poetry of the renowned Chilean poet, Jorge Teillier. Teillier was known for his nostalgic expressions, lamenting how the world of the countryside, that old world, the one that the generation of my grandparents was the last one to truly and fully live -and which I felt lucky to have caught a glimpse of it during my childhood- how that lifestyle was gradually threatened, fading and replaced by the relentless advance of the modern world during the XX century.