Rodrigo Mata: Zephyr for Unaccompanied Double bass
Rodrigo Mata: Zephyr for Unaccompanied Double bass
By Rodrigo Mata. Dedicated to David Heyes on his 60th birthday
About the Composition
Work inspired by nature, quoting a bit to Greek mythology. The idea of composing a 60-second work for Master Heyes, led me to think about creating a simple and clear work, inspired by the wind. Zephyr is part of a serie of 4 small pieces for unaccompanied double bass, entitled "Anemoi"
"Zhephyr" (Greek: Zhephyrus), is the name of one of the 4 gods of the wind according to Greek mythology, each of these is characterized by bringing gusts of wind from different cardinal points and at different seasons of the year. Zephyrus is the one that brings a gust of the west and brings the light early summer breeze, this makes allegory that it is a work with a Mexican passport that visits the United Kingdom. This small work evokes a very soft atmosphere, manifested with harmonic pizzicatos with a lot of resonance that emulates a very subtle breeze and is structured with a simple modal melodic motif that is repeated several times and then turned into a small coda, all this always wrapped in a slow funk rhythm.
This work has been premiered by David Heyes himself on December 15, 2019, in a concert in Wells, United Kingdom, together with works by great composers such as Teppo Hauta.aho, Simón García, Bernard Salles, David Heyes, Frank Proto, and Tony Osborne. In the same way, it has been premiered in a virtual concert by MUSHAMUKAS double bass ensemble on August 12 from León, Mexico.
About the Composer
Bassist and composer born in 1985 in Guanajuato, Mexico, he graduated in double bass at the University of Guanajuato. Concurrently, he studied with Valeria Thierry (Mexico) in Mexico City and, in 2010, completed an academic stay at Mount Royal University in the city of Calgary, Canada, with Sheila Garrett (Canada), John Hyde (Canada) and Rubim de Toledo (Brazil). From 2019 to 2021, he studied for a Master's Degree in Music Performance at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Dan Styffe (Sweden) and Håkon Thelin (Norway). He has received master classes from renowned musicians such as Stefano Scodanibbio (Italy), Bertram Turetzky (United States), Frank Proto (United States), Markus Stockhausen (Germany), Dominic Seldis (United Kingdom), Thierry Barbe (France), Jeff Bradetich (United States), among others.
As a soloist, he has premiered works by contemporary composers in Mexico, the United States, and Norway. He has performed with Calgary Youth Orchestra in Canada, Orquesta de Cámara de Leon, the Norwegian Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonietta, Ensemble 3030, and the Bergen Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently a bassist in Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato, as well as several chamber music and jazz projects. He is conductor and founder of the double bass ensemble "Mushamukas," with which he has premiered works by avant-garde composers and with which, in 2022, he was a beneficiary of FONCA's Programa de Fomento a Proyectos y Coinversiones Culturales. In 2021 he was a beneficiary of Programa de Estímulos a la Creación y Desarrollo Artístico (PECDA) as a creator with trajectory.
As a composer, he has won first prize in the 2020 and 2022 ISB (International Society of Bassist) Composition Contest, first prize in the 2021 FICI (Festival Internacional de Contrabajo Infantil) Composition Contest, and has been the resident composer of the Latin Orchestra of Europe in 2021, his works have been performed in Norway, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, the Czech Republic, Chile, Argentina, Portugal, Germany, Venezuela, Peru, and the United States.
Both as a performer, as a composer, and as a director, he has participated in numerous international events such as the International Cervantino Festival, the Fjord Classics Festival, the International Festival of Contemporary Art, the Callejón del Ruido International Festival, the International Jazz Festival in Irapuato, the Convention of the International Society of Bassists and the Baja California Latin American Double Bajos Festival, to name a few, and has made album recordings with the Tagma Records, Quindecim Recordings and Evidence Classics record labels.
Additionally, he has served as a teacher in the Community Orchestras of the Sistema Nacional de Fomento Musical, Trinitate Philharmonia, and continues as a double bass professor at the University of Guanajuato.