Tongoy Triptych

Composed for two guitars, this suite in three movements was inspired by a trip to northern Chile with two close friends whose lives have been dedicated to Human Rights activism and to whom the suite is dedicated.

Each of the three movements evokes the spirit of the place where the music locates itself. The first movement, Tongoy Sea captures the sleepy seaside town of Tongoy on the Pacific coast with its long stretch of beach onto which spills the village, the fishing boats and the fish market while families gather in the local fish restaurants that line the beach looking out to sea.

The second movement, Tololo Sky, recalls the long car drive up the winding mountain towards the Inter-American observatory, Cerro Tololo. Driving up the mountain I was struck by the starkness of our car winding its way on a single desert mountain road surrounded by a vast sky of an intense and translucent blue.

The final movement, Elqui Earth, evokes the gentle slow pace of the town of Vicuña, birthplace of the poet Gabriela Mistral in the Elqui Valley. This fertile stretch of green with its abundant vineyards and fruit orchards stands out against the dry mountains that encircle it below a limpid sky.

Dominique Le Gendre (2023)