Irisado (For Chamber Ensemble and Charanguista)

A work co-composed by Jacob Barrett, Jose Jugo, Michaela Cornelius and Thomas Bedggood as part of the Musicality Programme, an endeavour of the Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence (LatAmCAPE) in association with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, Puentes Abroad in Argentina and Campus B in Colombia.

Irisado (‘iridescent’ in Spanish) was named to reflect the ever-changing nature of the piece, which spans some 18 minutes, with sections written by each of the composers. The music is directly influenced by Latin American musical styles and traditions, following study of these by the composers under the guidance of mentors from Aotearoa and Latin America.

Watch out for an instrument that may be unfamiliar to you: the charango, a small guitar with a distinctive sound native to the Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. It is performed in this premiere recording by charanguista Fernando Figueroa.