Trio Stimmen premieres “Diferencias del Delphin” in Zurich
The new piece “Diferencias del Delphin” for alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and piano will be premiered on Friday, May 8, 2026, in Zurich by its dedicatees, the members of Trio Stimmen—Alejandro Latorre, Juan David Toro and Nao Sumimura—as part of the programme of the Lange Nacht der ZHdK.
The trio unfolds as a sequence of variations—diferencias—on the music from the Renaissance romance Paseavase el rey moro, found in Los seys libros del Delphin, de música de cifras para tañer vihuela (1538) by Luys de Narváez.
Across the work, the original material is gradually transformed: a melodic trace, a harmonic progression, an image latent within the text. This process journeys through six distinct stations—six diferencias—each refracting Narváez’s music from a different angle.
These diferencias merge and dissolve into one another, flowing seamlessly until they arrive at a lament akin to the rithā: an echo of mourning that recalls the romance’s central image—the grief of the Moorish king at the loss of Alhama in 1482.
The work was commissioned by Trio Stimmen with the support of the Jenifer and Fritz Mugler Fund de la Fondation ZHdK. The piece is dedicated to the Trio and to the memory of Sabina Ciruela (1986–2024).
Cover photo: © ZHdK
The trio unfolds as a sequence of variations—diferencias—on the music from the Renaissance romance Paseavase el rey moro, found in Los seys libros del Delphin, de música de cifras para tañer vihuela (1538) by Luys de Narváez.
Across the work, the original material is gradually transformed: a melodic trace, a harmonic progression, an image latent within the text. This process journeys through six distinct stations—six diferencias—each refracting Narváez’s music from a different angle.
These diferencias merge and dissolve into one another, flowing seamlessly until they arrive at a lament akin to the rithā: an echo of mourning that recalls the romance’s central image—the grief of the Moorish king at the loss of Alhama in 1482.
The work was commissioned by Trio Stimmen with the support of the Jenifer and Fritz Mugler Fund de la Fondation ZHdK. The piece is dedicated to the Trio and to the memory of Sabina Ciruela (1986–2024).
Cover photo: © ZHdK