Diana Arismendi’s (CRF 2025) new composition Canto llano made its world premiere on May 28, 2025 at Le Consulat in Paris, part of Concret: Chant de la plaine.
About the event:
Composer Pedro García Velásquez and the Noun Ensemble explore the traditional music of the Venezuelan-Colombian plains (llanera) from a contemporary perspective. This concert follows the journey of the Alcaraván, a bird typical of this plain that, after years of migration through a cedar forest, has lost its memory. From its native land, it retains only echoes: sounds, rhythms, and strange melodies.
Why did he migrate? What did he leave behind? What star, illusion, or wound guided his path? Determined to remember, El Alcaraván embarks on a sonic journey in search of his roots, offering us a tense and fertile encounter between two musical worlds: the Noun ensemble—with symphonic pieces and arrangements by Pedro García Velásquez and Diana Arismendi—and the traditional music of the plains, performed by Cristóbal Soto on the harp and Josué Omaña on the cuatro, with tonadas and arrangements inspired in particular by the work of Simón Díaz.
The Alcaraván, played on stage by Benjamin Lazar, will travel from oblivion to memory… but upon regaining his memory, he will never be the same again. Following the text by Ana García Velásquez, this concert reflects on the memory, identity, nostalgia, and resilience that permeate every migratory experience. A process of transformation that, for the migrant, inevitably involves death and rebirth.
Learn more here.