TENSIÓN TRANQUILA III (QUIET TENSION III)
for alto saxophone

Tensión tranquila III is part of a cycle of works that explore musical ideas and instrumental techniques with the aim of deepening the essence of gesture, simplifying and amplifying it. The title alludes to the resulting character of these actions on the sound material, inspired in part by some constructive concepts present in Kandinsky's Tension légère ("delicate tension" or "light tension").

This piece, like the two previous works in the series, Tensión tranquila I (2020) for oboe and electronics and Tensión tranquila II (2023) for piano and electronics, as well as Tensión tranquila IV -follie- (2024) for bass clarinet, electronics (Bluetooth speaker), and sound shadow(s) -one or more instruments and Bluetooth speaker-, revisits a concept that does not frequently appear in my recent compositions. It does not rely on pre-existing "natural" or "artificial" sounds but arises from the exploration of one or several gestures, dependent on the physicality of the performer’s actions on their instrument.

In Tensión tranquila III, human breath plays an essential role, connecting aeolian and percussive sounds with those resulting from inhalation and exhalation. This connection is used to imagine a sonic itinerary where small objects, which insistently present themselves as if they were "initial splashes" on the surface of time, proliferate in an almost geometric, irregular context that tends toward expansion.

The work establishes a close relationship between essential musical objects, compositional processes, and the expression of human breath, which in this case acquires an intrinsically musical value.

Javier Torres Maldonado