Duration:  25-30 minutes

Program Notes:

​

Voices from the Underground was written for Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern.  This incredible underground space used to hold the city's drinking water in the early 20th century, but is now used as an art/concert space for special events.  My piece, Voices from the Underground, calls attention to our environmental crisis, and this special performance space in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern reminds us of our limited resources and the need for conservation.  This Houston landmark contains 221 shaped columns, which span the 87,000 square foot space, and these solo columns are reflected in the music with instrumental solos during the first half of the work, played by the instruments of the ensemble: violin, cello, saxophone, trombone, and percussion.  In the second half of the piece, the ensemble comes together to form a larger, insistent, dynamic sound which echoes throughout the space.

​

This work was commissioned by Musiqa, in partnership with the Buffalo Bayoun Park Cistern. 

​

-- Pierre Jalbert

© 2023 Pierre Jalbert, Voices from the Underground