“Flor de Azahar” for guitar and wind quintet

On the 2022 Festival with the theme ”Southerly Winds” there where to premiere performances by Spanish composers Francisco Coll and Manuel Martinez-Burgos.

Manuel Martínez-Burgos (*1970) “Flor de Azahar” – orange blossoms in English, is the fragrant flower of the orange tree. It is a flower highly appreciated for its beauty, aroma, and properties, which are traditionally considered therapeutic. This type of flower can be observed during the spring season not only in the fields, but also in the streets and squares of many Spanish cities (especially Valencia, Murcia, Malaga, Córdoba and Seville), where it is used as an ornamental tree and its pleasant fragrance invades the urban environment.

“Flor de Azahar” tries to capture these connotations, so creating an atmospheric and textural character. From a formal point of view, the piece is a chamber concert where the guitar takes a leading role, establishing a contrasting dialogue with the wind instruments. Although the piece is formally divided into four movements, these are performed without interruption. Between the third and the last movement the guitar introduces a cadence that takes up several of the themes of the previous movements and prepares the final movement. The latter is a presto con fuoco with an energetic and explosive character.

Flor de Azahar had it’s premiere performance on the final concert, January 16 2022 with the guitarist Jacob Kellerman and the Azahar Ensemble.