Almas de Barro

Santiago Veros composed Almas de Barro at the age of 19 as a class assignment during his first year of composition studies. Originally conceived as a counterpoint exercise for three-part treble voices, the piece quickly became a more personal exploration of adolescent longing and silence. Inspired by fleeting moments of eye contact during music theory classes, the work reflects the inner world of someone too shy to speak, trying instead to capture connection through music. At its core, Almas de Barro is a fantasy: a story that never happened, a brief dream held between glances.

The music begins without text, voices circling each other in hesitant imitation, expressing proximity and avoidance in equal measure. As the piece unfolds, the lines grow more independent, and with them, a sense of solitude emerges. By the end, the dream dissolves, leaving only the echo of what never came to be. Over the years, the piece evolved significantly. Though written as a student work, it was revised multiple times until reaching the final version known today. Its simplicity, sincerity, and emotional clarity have made it one of Veros’s most widely performed works.