I Vanish— (2026)
Japanese Death Poems for Noh Voice and Cello | 8'
I Vanish– for Noh voice and cello grew out of a reading of the haiku collected by Yoel Hoffmann in his anthology of poems written by Zen masters on the threshold of death. These texts are extremely brief and yet remarkably dense: small openings onto an ephemeral reality.
The work unfolds as a succession of very brief miniatures. Each haiku is a world in itself, a fleeting image containing a landscape, a gesture, a presence, or an absence. The cello and voice do not seek so much to illustrate the poem as to inhabit its space and make its image perceptible.
In this process, the Noh voice assumes an essentially dramaturgical role. Through timbre, prosody, vocal gesture, and silence, the voice brings forth what the poem suggests: it evokes the image through its own sonic materiality, transforming the text into action and presence. The cello, in turn, establishes a resonant space around this vocal action, extending or shifting its perception. Together, the two instruments create a fragmentary dramaturgy made of ephemeral moments.
This work inhabits the threshold between word and silence, between presence and disappearance, and it was commissioned by Ryoko Aoki, to whom it is dedicated.
In the meantime, you can hear Ryoko Aoki’s voice on her website:
https://ryokoaoki.net/
Publisher: Universal Edition (forthcoming)
Al jorn del judici (2026)
Mixed choir | 3'
El Cant de la Sibil·la is a chant that spread during the Middle Ages throughout southern Europe, prophesying the arrival of the Messiah and the end of the world. Barcelona Cathedral is the only one in Europe that preserves both its original score and space, featuring a wooden choir from the 14th and 15th centuries.
This work has been commissioned by the Cor de Cambra Francesc Valls of Barcelona Cathedral, conducted by Pere Lluís Biosca, to be premiered as the conclusion to El Cant de la Sibil·la, which will be performed during Midnight Mass this 2026 at Barcelona Cathedral.
On hi ha Silenci (2025)
Overtone singing voices, violin, percussion and shakuhachi | 45'
The verse of the poem that gives the title to the work corresponds to the Shodoka, a sutra written by the Zen monk Yoka Daishi (665-713 AD) that distills a true love towards nature, with a clear influence of Taoism. The immensity of the mountains, the old pine tree, the deep valley and the cabin evoke the solitude of the hermit who lives in the middle of the forest with fullness and peace. A rich soundscape made up of birdsong, wind, wood sounds and other natural elements envelops the stillness of deep silence.
The work is structured in seven movements where meditative soundscapes alternate with sounds rooted in the Earth—including shamanic voices, Mongolian vocal techniques such as kargyraa, diphonic singing, and instruments of shamanic tradition—, with pieces for a cappella choir with a microtonal harmony based on natural harmonics, seeking a clear, vibrant, luminous sonority, and more linked to the intangible.
The work is dedicated to the MuOM Overtone Singing Choir, from the silence of the mountains.
Work financed by Barcelona City Council – Barcelona Crea. We will be able to premiere the complete work next season. Stay tuned!
Publisher: Universal Edition (forthcoming)
U ("One") (2025)
Piano | 18'
The Shin Jin Mei is an ancient 6th-century sutra much loved in the Zen tradition. I often re-read it, especially on meditation retreats. It is a text of deep wisdom that points towards the essence that shapes us. The five movements of the work are based on some verses that evoke inner silence, the original mind, our home. The title U (“One”) refers to the return to unity, to the essential nature.
U (“One”) is a commission from the pianist Daniel Ariño, and it is dedicated to him, from Silence.
Publisher: Universal Edition (forthcoming)