When the musicians saw Rosalía at work during the recording of‘Lux‘ in London, they experienced “a kind of ecstasy” and felt the responsibility of materializing “the mission” that she had set for herself with the album, says the Spanish violinist of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) David Ballesteros in an interview with EFE.
Born in Tenerife, Ballesteros has been a member of the London Symphony Orchestra since 2000, where he plays second violin, and was one of the few musicians chosen to participate with Rosalía in the recording process of ‘Lux’, which took “three or four days” in the British capital.
When they saw the first of the scores, without lyrics or previous rehearsals, the feeling in the London orchestra was a mixture of curiosity and skepticism to know what the Catalan singer had come up with, but when they played the initial notes, they knew they were looking at something “completely different and very stimulating,” describes the musician from one of the LSO’s rehearsal rooms.
“We had the impression that (Rosalía) had worked very hard in those last years to reach that moment, which for her was, I imagine, a kind of ecstasy that we all felt (…) because at the moment we sat down to put music to those notes we felt that she had a mission and that she was deeply focused to achieve that which she had invented and imagined in her mind,” he adds.
In his twenty-five years at the LSO, Ballesteros has had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous renowned artists, as well as record music for video games and movie sagas such as ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Harry Potter’. However, he assures that the experience of working with Rosalía has been unique.
During the “intense” recording sessions, Rosalía’s intervention was “constant”, says Ballesteros, but her personality and natural grace in giving directions won over the musicians of the London orchestra, who gave themselves “without restraint” to her suggestions.
From the control room, the Catalan artist reproduced with her voice the melodies that the musicians had to replicate later with their instruments. “That gave us a very valuable ingredient when it came to contributing what she had imagined to go into that detail,” says the violinist.
The revelation of the London Symphony Orchestra with Rosalía
“His ideal was somehow palpable in the way he worked, and I didn’t get the impression that it was a finished product, but that truly in the sessions his ideas or his dreams regarding many of the topics were developing as he went along,” he adds.
Backstage, Ballesteros was also able to share some private moments with Rosalía, whom he describes as a “cultivated”, “sensitive” and “curious by nature” person.
“It was very nice to have time to talk to her in one of the breaks and exchange opinions about the music that moves us the most,” confesses the canary, who recalls how the singer showed special interest in knowing what her criteria was about the melodies of ‘Lux’.
It’s been almost a year since Ballesteros and the rest of the LSO musicians recorded the songs (and had to keep it a secret), but it wasn’t until their release, last November 7, that they heard the final product.
“For the orchestra it was a pleasant surprise to see that the challenge was at a very high level and the result was brilliant,” says the Tenerife native, who dares to replicate from memory with his violin some notes of the ostinato base of ‘Berghain’, the first single from ‘Lux’ and one of his favorites from the album -along with ‘Magnolias’ and ‘Memoria’-.
The orchestral component, especially the string instruments, is present in most of the songs and is one of the structural pillars of the album, together with the thirteen languages that compose it, the collaborations with artists such as Björk or Carminho and the amalgam of musical styles that it explores, from opera to fado.
In Ballesteros’ opinion, ‘Lux’ is a tribute by Rosalía to the “lineage” that links her to many artists and musical styles of the past and, at the same time, a connection to the future that demonstrates that music has no labels in today’s world.
He concludes that Rosalía’s music is like “an invitation for any young person to dare to pick up an instrument,” reported Agencia EFE, which represents “a very valuable stimulus and a gift from Rosalía to this generation.
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