Uqbar Overture
Luis Obregon
About this work:
The title Uqbar derives from a short story of Jorge Luis Borges, in where he and Bioy
Casares discover one day a mysterious copy of a Encyclopedia Britannica. This copy is the only
one they could find that contains entries of non-existing countries such as Tlon, Uqbar, and
Orbis Tertius. Borges continues and offers a brief synopsis of these fictitious entries. Uqbar
Overture describes a journey and arrival to one of these fictitious countries. Thus the form of the
piece, rather then presenting the material first and then developing it, reflects a slow unfolding
process. Thus the listener is constantly surprised with new themes and ideas, just as one would
discover while arriving to a new an unknown country or place.
This work was funded in part by the Composer Assistant Program by The American Music Center
Version: June 2010
Year composed: 2010
Duration: 08:10:20
Ensemble type: Orchestra
Instrumentation: