Year of Composition

2009

Duration

5'

Instrumentation

Woodwind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, french horn) and string quintet (2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass)

Categories

Chamber Music

Program Note

Coquí is the common name for several species of small frogs found in Puerto Rico, onomatopoeically named for the loud sound the males make at night, sometimes reaching as high as 100 decibels! It is the unofficial symbol of Puerto Rico and is very popular, enlivening the evenings with its ko-kee from which it get its name. The coquies begin to sing when the sun goes down at dusk, singing all night long until dawn. When I visited Puerto Rico, the lusty serenade of these tireless divos fascinated me, and I imagined strange love songs, whose messages could only be comprehended by their lady loves, filling the night with arias unknown to human beings.

— Victoria Bond

Audio/Video

Commission & Premiere Info

Commissioned by North/South Consonance in New York City on December 30, 2009f