The trees distract; they are as innocent as can be, they know no evil. They especially like to sing and in concert they sing the few songs they have managed to write. Like all plants, they love water and they dedicate their best symphonies to singing its praises; there are two of them and they can be heard in any forest in the world: one imitates the sound of the rain falling on branches and the other copies the rumbles of the distant sea. Sometimes, in the shadows of the canopy you might be surprised by the sound of a downpour that, though it starts in the distance travels closer and closer until it passes over your head; you look up to the sky through the gaps in the greenery and there it is, clear and blue: not even a drop falls to wet the earth, but the sound continues, moves away from you and moves back… and that is when you see the branches, you see the outstretched leaves, like the throat of a cantor. The choral session of the trees has commenced… (…) Wenceslao F. Flórez, 1943, O bosque animado Notas al programa In this piece, Andrés Álvarez sets to music the book The Lively Forest, by author Wenceslao Fernández Flórez, evoking the childlike nature reflected in the title. This might be the most internally developed work in the composer’s portfolio. With its animal mimicry and auditory elements reflecting nature’s sounds, so clearly identifiable in the first and third movements, there is no need to read the title to know that it refers to a forest. Of the three movements in this great work, the most important is the second, the dark night, with its shadows, gives greater light to the other two, even if that seems impossible. Written in 2011 upon commission of the Professional Music Conservatory of Vigo it was later recorded on CD. It is supremely important to note the idea of the programmatic music with its small elements that seek to imitate nature. In this way, the audience will enjoy a moment in the “Cecebre Forest” in which night falls for a moment in the second movement, only to give way to the light of a new day.