Composer’s Note:

…que la tierra se partio por su sonido was inspired by this verse from the Old Testament: “Then all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth split with their sound.” – 1 Kings 1: 40

It’s not often you read of flutes having the power to tear down walls or split the earth; that metaphor is usually reserved for such instruments as trumpet, brass, or percussion. I was intrigued by the idea of flutes having that power. The ensemble is also split: The flute ensemble is comprised only of piccolos and low flutes, divided into two ‘choirs,’ and surrounds the soloist both spatially and in terms of register and timbre.

Written for Trudy Kane and the Frost Flute Ensemble, …que la tierra se partio por su sonido was composed while in residence at Aaron Copland’s house as a winner of the Copland House Award.