Established as one of the leading Mexican composers of her generation, Hilda Paredes has made her home in London since 1979 and her music is now performed widely around the world.

Paredes’ third release on Mode Records features 3 chamber works separated by 2 solo works, written between 1995–2013 and performed by world class musicians.

Señales (Signals) was commissioned by The Miller Theater in New York for Irvine Arditti and Ensemble Signal, who recorded it here. Señales’ melodies and exuberant flourishes may involve quarter-tones and noise effects, especially on the wind instruments, are also part of the ceaseless flow of gestures, of señales. Steve Smith wrote of the premier in The New York Times: “From a lapping, splashing introduction, the music — played by a 10-member ensemble that included an ear-tickling mix of cimbalom, harp and marimba — rippled, surged and jolted ceaselessly around Mr. Arditti’s flashing exertions. Time stood still repeatedly during haunting interludes that paid homage to another composer, Jonathan Harvey.”

Páramo de voces (Voices of a wasteland), is a dialogue between piano and recorded sound, the latter extending the piano’s sonorities or providing invitations in the form of auras or images.

Intermezzo malinconico, for bass-clarinet, begins with percussive attacks in a low register, created by jamming the tongue between the lips while playing, and higher sustained notes that slip in intonation through quarter-tones. The percussive sounds become normal tones, their bouncing now expressed as rapid irregular repetition, then the poignant melancholic sounds open into melody and the piece ends at a whisper.

ensemble recherche perform 2 chamber works: Homenaje a Remedios Varo, scored for the instrumentation of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, and Recuerdos del Porvenir.

Liner notes by Paul Griffiths. Cover photos by the celebrated Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide.

All are first recordings.