Composer Gabriela Lena Frank on the world premiere of Picaflor: A Future Myth (Philadelphia Orchestra)
On March 13-15, the Philadelphia Orchestra presents the world premiere of Picaflor: A future myth by Gabriela Lena Frank, led by conductor Marin Alsop. This work is commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, where it will be performed again by Alsop and the Philadelphia Orchestra July 6.
This programmatic work depicts an original story by Gabriela Lena Frank, inspired by Andean Peruvian mythology and reimagined in a futuristic setting. It draws upon the legends of a sky kingdom ruled by a sun god creator, a rebellious hummingbird (Picaflor) who tears through the sky, and the chaski—messengers of the Inca Empire. The piece is also immersed in the concept of pachacuti, the belief that era-worlds undergo cataclysmic transformations every few hundred years. These elements reflect the composer’s own climate activism in both art and life, and her pride as a generational daughter of Indigenous Perú. Picaflor: A future myth is dedicated to Kaija Saariaho, and is the culmination of Frank’s long term residency with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The composer provides her own brief descriptions of the piece’s nine movements below:
I. Pachacuti: The Drowning of Pachamama
Extinction, humans called it. But Sun God called it safekeeping: Whisking away his favorite creatures, one by one, into the Sky Kingdom while below, his sister Pachamama burned. Then, she flooded. And she did drown.
Those left behind roamed a dark, unpleasantly wet planet.
This went on for some time.
II. As the Night Tears
One day, a sliver of sunlight opens from above; a gleaming beam touches the earth. Then another. And there, another! A small being flies down, circling a ray. She lands among the forgotten creatures, a bit of ripped sky in her beak.
III. Song of the Picaflor
Awed, the creatures watch the Picaflor sing. They have never seen anything like her.
IV. Prophecy of the Mollusks
Ancient Mollusks emerge. From within their soft flesh, a memory jiggles: Picaflor had once created the world by stealing fire from a jealous Sun God and sharing its warmth with Pachamama. The abandoned creatures feel hope.
V. The Scraped Ones Point the Way
Petroglyphs peel away from their rocks. They bow to the distant Horizon where sky creates its seam with the sea. Picaflor’s unique beak could once again rip the barrier between the two worlds. Would she?
VI. The Keeper of Flies
A Human prostrates himself, his hands cupping a swarm of tiny flies, his proclaimed children. Released to Picaflor, they buzz under her wings, endowing her with even more speed.
VII. The Royal Road and the Ghosts of Chaskis Past
The Royal Road, a remnant of civilization, is home to the specters of its former messengers, the Chaskis. Picaflor flies the forbidding route to the Horizon, flanked by the sprinting ghosts.
VIII. Fossils at the Horizon
At the mysterious Horizon, Picaflor finds fossils of hummingbirds along the border between the two worlds. She knits their beaks into her own, and it becomes long and sharp. With effort, she creates a small tear at the seam, slips through, and ascends into the Sky Kingdom.
IX. The Sun God
Picaflor flies to Sun God. How angry he is to see his disobedient subject who left his kingdom, and now flying with such speed and with such a beak! As Sun God roars, he spits droplets of sunfire; Picaflor grabs a hold of a droplet! Sun God gives chase, following her through the rip, tearing it wide. The worlds spill into one another.
As they circle the earth, Sun God’s warmth dries up the floods. Daylight and vibrancy are restored everywhere. Picaflor rejoices. She doesn’t notice the sunfire in her grip burning up her beak. Soon, she is nothing but ash.
The ash descends to the earth, fertilizing it with the small bird’s qualities of wisdom, courage, and selflessness.
X. Pachacuti: Firethroats
A bit of ash remains ever in flight with Sun God ever in pursuit, sunrises and sunsets following in his wake. A special breed of hummingbirds, the firethroats, become revered wardens of the planet. Pachamama steps into a new skin. She proclaims a new age.
