This work, with a heterogeneous instrumental formation, was born from the reading of the ancient Chinese oracle of the I Ching. In this version, translated and commented by Judica Cordiglia, one of the hexagrams refers to the painting “Buscando el Tao en las Montañas de Otoño” by the Chinese painter Kiu Janun. I was immediately interested in it and decided to look for material that was related to this painting. I found a doctoral thesis by Teresa González Linaje: “La Pintura de Paisaje: Del Taoísmo Chino al Romanticismo Europeo: Paralelismos Plásticos y Estéticos”, which was a great source of information on the subject, to which I added a copy of the painting and a poem associated with it: “Ascenso al Monte Tai” by the poet Li Bo.

Side by side, this poem of fourteen verses and the painting directly inspired me to create the thirteen movements that structure the work, each of them being intimately linked to the text according to its sequence:

I] … At dawn I climb to the peak from where the sunrise is contemplated…
II] … I raise my hands and separate the clouds…
III] … My spirit rises with the four winds…
IV] … As if springing between heaven and earth…
V] … The yellow river comes from the west…
VI] … It winds between the distant mountains…
VII] … I lean from the cliff to contemplate the eight poles…
VIII] … My glance embraces the immensity…
IX] … I meet a young immortal… With green hair and buns like clouds…
X] … He laughs at me who belatedly wants to learn immortality…
XI] … I have lost too much time, my red cheeks have now turned pale…
XII] … I hesitate a moment, and the immortal suddenly disappears…
XIII] In this immensity I cannot reach him anymore…

Movements I, III, VI, VIII, XII and XIII are very quiet, meditative and introspective in nature, while II, IV, VII, IX, X and XI contrast powerfully with their strong rhythmic intensity and richness of texture.