Wallada

  • Year of composition: 2022

  • Instrumentation: soprano & sax

  • Duration: 11' approx.

  • Premiere: 15th July 2022 at Scuderie del Castello Caetani in Sermoneta (IT) by Maria Eleonora Caminada (soprano) and Riccardo Cavaliere (sax) for Festival Pontino di Musica 2022

  • Program notes:

The piece is dedicated to the figure of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi: an eclectic poet who lived in Arab Cordoba during the 11th century, she dedicated herself to teaching poetry to women of all social classes, leading a life free from the social and religious constraints of her time.

Particularly famous is her correspondence with Ibn Zaydun, also a poet, reflecting a controversial and extremely lively relationship. The four short episodes narrate the evolution of their relationship in an explicitly dramaturgical way: through the interaction between vocal theatricality and instrument, the power of the text finds its full expression.

  • Recording(s):