Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago

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Koatl, by Luis Ramirez
Performed by the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra with Gary Kulesha, conductor
Hamilton ON, June 2022

Program Notes:

A story of fear and triumph, of evasion and embrace.

It begins with a fall through mysterious dimensions of time and space to an unfamiliar place. A glance at your surroundings yields both awe and terror. The walls spring to life with a glistening iridescence. Memories of the past urge you to leave, but you are here for a reason. And so you begin to walk slowly, with trepidation.
When it appears, you are not surprised. It seems as though it had always been there. With the majestic creature in full view your eyes meet. Its kaleidoscopic scales scintillate as it slithers toward you with curiosity. Slowly, with grace and ease, it constricts your body in a warm embrace. Protection, at last.

Unease creeps in as the embrace becomes tighter and painful. Fear and adrenaline course through your veins as you become aware that its gaze has morphed into a malevolent glare.

Freeing yourself from the creature, you run. As you are being chased, space and time are being distorted. The walls vanish, and the omnipotent beast warps you into an unknown dimension to halt your escape. You find yourself alone, panicked, with all the paths only leading you back to the beginning.

Paralyzing helplessness sets in as you avoid the inevitable, unthinkable truth. There must be another way. Another solution. Another exit. Finally, you give up the fight and accept your reality.

As you gather strength, a new conviction moves you forward. Invigorated, you start running. You resolve to meet your destiny, no matter the consequences.

In a final act of faith, you reach out your hand.

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KOATL was inspired by the myth of the mystical feathered snake, a creature that was both revered and feared by mesoamerican civilizations, like the Aztecs (Quetzalcōātl) and the Maya people (K'uk'ulkan). It was seen as a divine creator with a trickster character that connected the underworld, the earth, and the heavens, and which could offer protection if confronted or conquered. In the psychological context, Carl Jung used the symbolism of the serpent to represent the shadow which resides in one’s subconscious, and which must be embraced and integrated to reach one’s highest possible potential.

The resulting piece is a story about the fears, insecurities, and doubts which we all harbour, and the choice to face them which, at one point or another, we all must make.