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Brief notes:

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This composition won the first prize in the III Galician Composition Contest for Wind Orchestra 2010, concert section, and also was the test piece in the V Galician Bands Contest 2011, second section. First performance was given by Galician Federation of Wind Orchestras (FGBMP), conducted by Xosé Carlos Seráns at Galicia Concert Hall, Santiago de Compostela (Spain), December 30, 2010. Is dedicated to my parents.

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A dolmen (or portal tomb) is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance. In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton".

 

Subtitled as "three visions on Galician folk dances" and divided into three movements (without apparent correlation between them), Dolmen is my first catalogued composition that grows in a complete organic way, marking a first point of inflexion into my own language and development as composer until the moment. Actually, Dolmen was the last of 12 titles I have written down as possible subject of the composition, and it was selected once the very last bar of the first movement was completed (I have composed it inversely to its present order, starting with the third and finishing with the first movement as we know them today). Its selection came finally due to I felt that connect perfectly - linking the three movements under a single and logical gesture to me -, with the idea of return to the roots I have had in mind along the whole creative process. "Back to the roots" and/or "old wine in new bottles". Taking, as materials of each movement, old Galician folk dances (and tunes) and reusing them as cornerstone for be developed and atomized after of completely new ways. With these ideas on mind, Dolmen is divided as it follows: 

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First movement may be subtitled "alla alborada" (in the way of an aubade), and is cast in a modified rondo form with a broad introduction and coda. The introduction works like a pastoral (almost meditative) form of the Galician aubade, introduced at very beginning by the oboe. If you pay attention, also may find the "shadow" of the third theme played by the horns, euphonium and baritone saxophone immediately after the oboe cadenza. The first theme is introduced by the alto flute and is built like a synthesis between the Galician aubade and its Scottish counterpart, the reel (with some influences of the Norwegian "halling"). The second theme shares spirit and groove with the first, being able to be perceived as an extension of it. The third theme is entirely developed on a modal variation of the Anthem of Galicia by Pascual Veiga (1907).

 

Second movement may be subtitled "alla balada" or "all' alalá" more concretely. The "alalá" is a traditional type of chant from Galicia characterized by the use of onomatopoeic refrains, sharing characteristics with the "balada" (ballad) genre in sense of its lyrical, slow and romantic connotations. This movement is a modified sonata form. Its first theme, which is rather melancholy and sober, even somewhat pensive, is based entirely in the Galician folk tune "Alalá das mariñas" and is introduced by English horn and the first bassoon after a brief introduction. The second theme, first played by the solo flute, introduces a more meditative, pastoral mood, so that the consequent development becomes a dialogue, sometimes even a synthesis, between these two almost uniform ideas that reaching its climax in a superimposition of both themes. The recapitulation is omitted, replacing it for a brief coda which brings back elements taken from the introduction.

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Third movement may be subtitled "alla muiñeira". The muiñeira is a traditional dance and musical genre of Galicia. It is distinguished mainly by its expressive and lively tempo, played usually in 6/8 although some variants are performed in other time signatures. There are also variant types of muiñeira which remain in the tempo of 6/8 but displacing the accent in different ways. The muiñeira is also the Galician "equivalent" of the Irish "jig" (correlated with the French "gigue", or the Italian "giga"). This movement is a compound ternary form, bringing back the motif of the Galician aubade introduced in the first movement, thus generating a sensation of "cycle". All the interest of the movement drives to the final climax, where all the themes are re-elaborated almost simultaneously, concluding in a cumulative chord built over a modified tritone substitution of B-flat major.

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