Program notes
Sidewalk Divertimenti is a piece in three movements: Rayuela (hopscotch), Metras (marbles), and Trompos y Perinolas (tops and teetotums). While writing the work, I kept remembering the games we used to play—and watch others play—on the sidewalks of my neighborhood.
I grew up in a very busy part of Caracas, Venezuela. There were no parks nearby and nowhere else for children to go to play, so we spent our time hanging out on the sidewalks. Those games became our main source of entertainment, and they still carry powerful memories for me.
I must confess that I never really played hopscotch myself; it sort of “belonged to the girls.” But it always impressed me to see how they knew exactly when to land on two feet, when to turn, or when to pick up the rock. All of us boys enjoyed watching them play. Looking back, I suppose it was also a way for the girls to flirt with us.
The music is not programmatic in a literal sense. Rather, each movement evokes the feelings and fun I shared with my friends growing up on Humboldt Avenue.
This was the second piece I wrote for the Renaissance City Winds after Jim Whipple and I received our three-year grant through Meet The Composer in November 2001. The work was premiered during their 2002–2003 season and is dedicated to the memory of my friend John “Jack” Sangl.
— Efraín Amaya
Instrumentation & duration
Instrumentation: Piano sextet for woodwind quintet & piano.
Duration: ca. 15:30 (three movements).
Movement audio (MP3): I — Rayuela · II — Metras · III — Trompos y Perinolas
Purchase options
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