The Most Personal Work of Tiina Soé
Luz y Sombra is a bold fusion of musical genres that reflects Tiina Soé's extensive experience as a composer and arranger. In this piece, Tiina blends elements of pop, jazz, Argentine tango, bossa nova, and classical music, creating a work that transcends borders and emotions. Premiered alongside the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra in December 2022, Luz y Sombra takes audiences on a journey through the emotional duality of the human experience, where light and shadow intertwine in musical harmony.
The work has been performed by orchestras throughout the country, and Tiina, in her role as a soloist, is now in the process of bringing this composition to international stages.
By merging musical genres, Luz y Sombra also innovates in formats. The combination of a jazz trio with a symphony orchestra transcends "symphonic jazz" and becomes an original composition of great versatility, seamlessly linking contrasting musical genres. With the same fluidity, Tiina Soé boldly enriches her work by incorporating six languages. Luz y Sombra is presented as a deeply emotional yet delightfully vibrant spectacle of contrasts and colors.
This symphonic piece, created by Swiss composer Tiina Soé Stürzinger, features soloists in voice, piano, harp, double bass, and percussion.
The work fosters the exchange of cultural and artistic knowledge, embracing interculturality in connection with other areas of understanding and thought, such as language, which is a fundamental part of cultural heritage and a symbol of identity. Tiina Soé sings in six languages—Spanish, English, German, French, Portuguese, and Kichwa—offering an intuitive approach to listening.
Her artistic vision serves as a seed for the flourishing of the “Ursprache” (original language), highlighting the universality of languages linked through instinct and intuition, which lead us to the charm of the mother tongue.
Luz y Sombra invites listeners to release intellectual identification with language and instead be guided by its sound. Its phonetics evoke memories through sounds and imaginations, blurring the cultural boundaries humanity has constructed over time to define and defend cultural values. This work invites contemplation of cultural heritage as a global rather than a national matter.
Nature teaches us that the richness of cultural heritage belongs to everyone, born from fusion, mixing, and unity. Even better, it remains a vibrant and living process.
Tiina Soé’s musical language is woven from influences of jazz, bossa nova, tango, and classical music, particularly inspired by composers like Claude Debussy, Samuel Barber, and Astor Piazzolla, as well as artists like Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, and Tori Amos. This invites a sonic experience that reflects the themes previously discussed, fusing both genres and formats.
By exposing contrasts before uniting them, Luz y Sombra embarks on a continuous search for opposites: sonic and thematic clarity and darkness; the unique colors of each language and their shared essence; the delicacy and grandeur represented by the solo instruments—the harp and the piano; the intimacy created by the singer in dialogue with her instruments and in creative interaction with her trio; and, finally, the ennobling contrast offered by the grandeur of a symphony orchestra.
Program
Nō1
TOI (T.Soé)WHO KNOWS (T.Soé)
Nō2
LIGHTEN UP (T.Soé)MINHA MÚSICA (T.Soé)
Nō3
DIE ERINNERUNG BLEIBT (T.Soé)AWAKE IN THE NIGHT (T.Soé)
Nō4
FOLLOW (T.Soé)CHARME DE LINSTANT (T.Soé)
Nō5
NOSTÁLGIA (T.Soé)ZWISCHENDRIN (T.Soé)
Nō6
CAMBIA TODO CAMBIA (Julio Numhauser, arr. T.Soé)VASIJA DE BARRO (Gonzalo Benítez, arr. T.Soé)KURISHINA (T.Soé)GRACIAS A LA VIDA (Violeta Parra, arr. T.Soé))
Nō7
ENDLESS CHAIN (T.Soé)TROP VITE VITE (T.Soé)
"Luz y Sombra is a magnet for the audience!"
– Maestro Emmanuel Siffert, Orchestra Conductor, Switzerland
"Great music is born in Ecuador. Luz y Sombra by composer Tiina Soé Stürzinger not only presents a work of great magnitude and excellence but also enhances the spectacle with her extraordinary interpretative skills as a pianist, harpist, and singer."
– Magister Jorge Layana, Artist, Musician, Principal Oboist, Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra, Ecuador
"Tiina's work is extraordinarily well-written!"
– Maestro Iñigo Pirfano, Orchestra Conductor, Spain
Gallery
Technical Details
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Recommended Intermission: 15 minutes after No. 4
Musical Styles: Classical Music, Pop, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Argentine Tango, Latin American Folk Music
Languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Kichwa
Instruments for Soloist Tiina Soé:
1 Grand Piano
1 Harp
Instruments for Accompanying Trio:
1 Acoustic Double Bass*
1 Jazz Drum Set*
Symphony Orchestra:
1 Piccolo
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets
1 Bass Clarinet
1 Alto Saxophone**
1 Tenor Saxophone**
1 Baritone Saxophone**
2 Bassoons
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets
3 Trombones
1 Tuba
Percussion I
Percussion II
Violins I
Violins II
Violas
Cellos
Double Basses
*The solo parts for double bass and percussion can be performed by two principals from the same orchestra.
**The parts for the three saxophones are written to be performed by the three clarinetists. If necessary, adjustments in instrumentation can be made according to the orchestra’s disposition.
The concert requires amplification for soloists and orchestra, in-ear monitors for the soloists, and floor monitors for the conductor and orchestra.
To create an atmosphere of poetry and fantasy, it is recommended to use an open stage without an acoustic shell. For lighting, personalized spotlights on the soloists and an extensive range of colors between blue tones and contrasting colors are suggested. The use of a fog machine enhances the lighting effect to its maximum potential.