On Halloween night this year, the Milwaukee Art Museum lit its famous wings orange.
Under those wings, more than a dozen musicians shared pieces from around the world inspired by All Soul’s Eve and Día de los Muertos. The concert put on by Present Music represented the work of Mexican, American, Uruguayan, Irish, and Vietnamese composers.
When you think of Día de los Muertos, contemplative traditional guitar pieces may come to mind. It’s the traditional Mexican celebration that honors the dead in the final week of October and into early November. The celebration is meant to thin the veil between those living and those who have died.
When thinking about that, composer Miguel del Águila took a funkier approach: His piece is cheekily named "Conga-Line in Hell."
The piece imagines the festive dance performed by an endless line of ghosts among the flames. It's not a particularly solemn reflection of the Mexican tradition.
The concert was also the world premiere of a composition called "Music of the While," which swirls together melodies and electric guitar lines inspired by Baroque composer Henry Purcell’s work.
The piece’s composer, Viet Cuong, says he hopes to help soften the cares of the world and suspend time for the listener, just as Purcell did.
The moon rose in the sky and a chilly wind crept up outside the art museum’s famed white entry space.
But for a period on Halloween night, time was indeed suspended.
