Paul Desenne’s Pizziquitiplás

The second piece on the program is a fun one! From its name to its exploration of syncopation and polyrhythm that keeps one on their toes: “Pizziquitiplás” by Paul Desenne is a piece like no other. 

I actually had the pleasure of interacting with Paul Desenne over Zoom during a 2021 interview that the team at SOLA (@stringsoflatinamerica) organized. Along with my creative partner, Natali, we edited and listened live to what was going to be the finished product of this interview (hear snippets of it in this post!). 

I remember that by the end of the hour, I kept thinking to myself: “I have never met anyone like this guy!” From witty to incredibly smart, I got the feeling that Paul had this almost never-ending energy in combination with, what I think was, a satisfaction to see pieces of rather complicated puzzles fit easily and smoothly together. I find this to be true when listening to his music and, especially, in preparing Pizziquitiplás. 

“Composition and written music is not a written tradition, it is an oral tradition” he says. Composed in 1989, Pizziquitiplás comes from the “quitiplás,” an afro-venezuelan percussion instrument that consists on a trio of bamboo that are hit against the floor to create a characteristic rhythm. The interlocking patterns that the quitiplás makes are recreated by the pizzicatto techniques of two of the cellists, combined with the sound of a seaconch trumpet “guarura” made by the other cellist.

Paul Desenne is remembered for his extensive catalog of compositions that combine and explore all the “expressive possibilities of all Latin American musical languages.” Born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1959, Desenne was an honors graduate from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris. There, he pursued cello performance, playing various musical genres from classical music to Venezuelan Creole melodies, before taking up composition studies.

His works have been performed at the Teresa Carreño Theater, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Great Hall of Hamburg, León de Greiff, Barbican Center, Théâtre Maisonneuve, and the Cervantino Festival.

(References to come..)