Sergio Elena y Bantú

From Bach's timeless geometry to fractals, mechanical artefacts and particularly the Sub-Saharan rhythms of Ligeti - in what some call the music of the future - the present project, from Bach to Ligeti, actually originated from a work for piano by my grandfather, the writer and composer Felisberto Hernández. Titled Negros and premiered in 1935, it taps into the rhythms of the tabors and "the absurd melancholy of coloured men" (sic).

Following this line of inspiration, and as a pianist, I decided to take Negros and add drums to it – Felisberto never imagined that.

Other Uruguayan composers were added in a second stage: J. Lamarque Pons, L. Cluzeau Mortet, C. Giucci, E. Gilardoni, etc., with the same common denominator.

The third and last stage comprises the different composers of the universal repertoire where the different Afro rhythms, which when all is said and done are the archetypal expression of ancestral rhythm -  are present in a latent state and/or as a more explicit vehicle of inspiration.

From the outset I have enjoyed the invaluable support of the Afro-Uruguayan group Bantú, led by Tomás Olivera Chirimini.

For some years we have had the honour of playing with a veritable legend of the Uruguayan tabor: Eduardo "Cacho" Giménez. Our heartfelt homage goes out to him.