Le Temps d’une Mesure

Measure is the segmentation of musical time; it can be part of a larger structure or stand alone as an object in itself, as is often the case in so-called repetitive music.
When Florentino Calvo shared his wish for me to compose a piece in honor of Astor Piazzolla’s centennial, it naturally piqued my interest—I am not only a composer but also a tango musician.
The task, however, is far from simple: tango runs deep in my roots, and Piazzolla is an icon. It’s a strange kind of responsibility. In Decarissimo, the piece Piazzolla dedicated to the De Caro brothers (icons of the «old guard» of Argentine tango), he crafted a virtuosic universe, blending chromatic language with sharp rhythmic precision. I drew inspiration from the final measure of Decarissimo and imagined a self-contained musical world.
My piece unfolds within the time of that final measure of Decarissimo—originally meant to be played forte and tutti. I chose to isolate this measure, to make it begin and repeat endlessly, like an unceasing whirlwind of notes and rhythm. I sought to deconstruct it, filter it, obscure it, layer it, and freeze it in time—as if an entire life unfolded within that single, fleeting moment of passion and madness.