Free Lands Rhapsody

A mysterious knight, driven to abandon his homeland where, unfortunately, he lost his beloved, explores the vast prairies, plateaus, and desert areas typical of Central America. The composition thus begins with a first theme, relaxed and melancholic, describing the mood of the rider who decided to leave in order to alleviate his pain and forget the terrible past. The Allegro becomes the leitmotiv of this protagonist who, while riding, discovers new landscapes. The following themes describe his feelings at the sight of the beauty of nature and the grand rivers, and his awe for the vast sceneries that open before his eyes. Night soon arrives and the rider decides to rest in a cave on the plateaus that he could barely reach. But, the memory of the lost woman takes over his dreams and the opening theme reappears in the Lento performed by the oboe with its melancholic timbre. The theme gradually expands with an orchestration increasingly thick, up to the più mosso in which the first theme returns once again but varied. The Allegro that follows is the awakening of the main character who resumes his journey away from home and, in the final coda, gallops towards the horizon and finds again his peace of mind thanks to the mysterious beauty and immensity of the free lands.