DOCUMENTA 14
Útiles Sonoros, Joaquín Orellana Mejía, installation, mixed media, 2017
Joaquin Orellana, one of Guatemala’s foremost composers, presents his latest work, Symphony from the Third World, in its world premiere on June 28, 2017, as part of documenta 14, in co-production with the Athens Concert Hall and the Athens State Orchestra. Maestro Orellana personally develops and manufactures what he calls “sound tools,” which derive from traditional Central American percussion instruments, in particular the marimba. Although they resemble sculptures, they are not. Nor can they qualify as purely musical instruments, since their utilitarian value (as their maker states) makes them organic elements of the soundscape and parts of the composition itself.