Program notes
Tapices was originally conceived for flute octet (2 piccolo flutes, 4 flutes, and 2 alto flutes) or flute orchestra, and received partial sponsorship from the Venezuelan National Flute Orchestra. There is also a version for clarinet octet or clarinet orchestra, and the piece can be performed with two solo piccolos and six (or multiples of six) violins, taking advantage of the violin section of a chamber or symphony orchestra.
The musicians are placed in a semicircle, with instruments of similar character on opposing sides. This spatial layout is fundamental to the structure of the piece and to its antiphonal effects — one group answering another across the ensemble.
The musical material is built from very simple patterns which, through repetition, superposition, displacement, augmentation, diminution, and internal reordering, generate processes and structures of greater complexity. In this sense, the work is closer to the ideas of visual minimalism than to the techniques of so-called minimalist music.
The main point of departure is the basketry and tapestries of various Venezuelan Indigenous peoples, particularly from the Amazon, whose designs often consist of very simple motives that seem to repeat yet always contain some rhythmic or melodic variant — avoiding exact repetition. There are also moments in which the reference shifts toward the rich and exuberant tapestry traditions of medieval Europe and Near and Middle Eastern cultures. All of the musical material is original; there are no direct quotations.
— Ricardo Teruel
Instrumentation & duration
Flute octet / flute orchestra:
2 piccolo flutes, 4 C flutes, 2 alto flutes.:contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Clarinet octet / clarinet orchestra:
2 E♭ piccolo clarinets, 4 B♭ clarinets, 2 B♭ bass clarinets.:contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Alternate version:
2 solo piccolos and six (or multiples of six) violins (chamber or symphony
orchestra).
Duration: ca. 10:00 · one movement.
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