2012
La Nueche de San Xuán
“Para cerrar, la jolgoriosa y experimental La Nueche de San Xuan de Jorge Muñiz, en la que los recursos expresivos de la flauta son agotados hasta lo posible, en una búsqueda de la intensidad expresiva más bárbara.”
[English Translation] “In closing, we have the exhilarating and experimental La Nueche de San Xuán by Jorge Muñiz, where the expressive resources of the flute are used in all possibilities, in a search for the most barbarian expressive intensity.”
2011
Oda a Jovellanos (CD release)
[Espanol] “Entre las conmemoraciones musicales del bicentenario de Jovellanos, esta composición posee una voluntad estilística propia de nuestro tiempo, y está escrita con intención de sobrevivir a los actos del bicentenario. Frente a la mera intención laudatoria que suelen inspirar estas cantatas de homenaje, se nos presenta en la ‘Oda a Jovellanos’ una semblanza más compleja del polígrafo gijonés, «clavo de oro en la conciencia lívida de España», esbozado como inconformista, rebelde, preso de sus circunstancias y amante de su tierra y de su pueblo.”
[English Translation] “Among all the musical commemorations of the bicentennial of Jovellanos, [Oda a Jovellanos] possesses a stylistic will appropriate to our time and it has been written with the intention to survive beyond the bicentennial. Instead of the mere intention of praise that these homage-cantatas usually inspire, Oda a Jovellanos is a work presented with more complex imagery of the writer from Gijón, shown as non-conformist, rebel, imprisoned by the circumstances, and in love with his homeland and his people.”
2010
Requiem for the Innocent
“… An oratorio, the composition calls for baritone soloist, two mixed choruses, a male chorus, a children’s chorus and an orchestra. Divided into seven movements, the work lasts an hour.
At a time when symphonies are finding it tougher and tougher to sell tickets, Yeh could have easily debuted with a couple of popular Mozart and Mendelssohn symphonies, but instead he chose to premiere a challenging and huge piece from a living composer. It was a bold thing to do, and a wonderful one: Muñiz has written a magnificent requiem.
The oratorio is dedicated to the victims of terrorism around the world, and features 0words in five different languages, setting a variety of religious texts and the writings of mystics such as St. Teresa of Avila.
It began with guest artist Ivan Griffin’s versatile baritone voice against accompaniment from only the timpani. Before long, though, the room was to be filled with torrents of sound.
Yeh kept steadfastly in control of the huge forces under his command as they negotiated the dynamic new score. It was doubly impressive, considering that the musicians had no recordings to consult. They could only study the sheet music, rehearse and follow their conductor’s lead.
The audience was rewarded as well for its trust. Since no one could have heard the piece previously, no one really had much idea what it would sound like. Muñiz delivered a work that held the crowd’s attention and earned a sizable ovation at show’s end.
Griffin was particularly heroic, maintaining his pacing and poise while switching from language to language and culture to culture. He was also required to sing unusual melodies one minute while doing another passage in a declamatory style close to pure recitation the next.
Every oratorio needs drama, and the choruses served as their own kind of characters next to the baritone’s lead. In the striking fifth movement, one solitary soprano rose out of the choruses to take the part of the one supplicant in a crowd, asking for deliverance. The orchestra was suddenly reduced to a mere string quartet, in a surprise interlude of chamber music.
The choruses on hand were the South Bend Symphonic Choir, South Bend Chamber Singers, Shout for Joy Children’s Choir, IUSB Chorale, and University of Notre Dame Glee Club.
One bum chorus could have severely compromised the group effort, but each ensemble was disciplined, tight and mellifluous. Directors Marvin Curtis, Nancy Menk, Sandy Hill, Michael Wade, and Daniel Stowe all did commendable work, bringing well-prepared choirs which turned in convincing performances.
During the defiantly optimistic final movement, bright, major chords had replaced the ominous, mournful ones that dominated earlier in the piece. Griffin and the massed voices traded lines from the black spiritual “Rise, Shine, for Thy Light is a-Coming” in a grand celebration of life and hope.
An undertaking as ambitious as “Requiem for the Innocent” could come off pretentious, naive or unwieldy. Instead, Muñiz has a creation that is profound, mature and well-proportioned.
Ideally, other orchestras will program the piece, because it should certainly be heard again. Maybe Muñiz can get it recorded for CD. If so, perhaps he could even add a few minutes of music.
At an hour, it felt a little too short.”
Jack Walton, The South Bend Tribune, October 5, 2010
2008
Germinal
“Jorge Muniz’s “Germinal” is a three-act opera presumably based on the novel by Emile Zola. Two scenes revealed the most experienced operatic voice in the program, as Muniz showed the ability to quickly set a scene and a dramatic mood. This was particularly so in the tavern scene, where a quintet of characters expressed mostly unhappy feelings.”
Germinal
“Political conflict was also a theme in Jorge Muñiz’s “Germinal,” the adaptation of the Emile Zola novel that will be produced at the Opera Festival of Oviedo in Spain. Set in the incendiary French politics of the 1860s, the personal tragedy of a mining disaster was seen in the deaths of a pair of traditional operatic lovers. Muñiz’s style was also traditional, and his long, explressive melodic lines were sung with sincere emotion.”