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| Total duration 22 mins. | ||||||||||||
| Cuaderno del Ritmo (Sketchbook of Rhythm) started as a series of free rhythmic sketches based on different ideas from a number of sources, ranging from Indian music to Debussy’s second orchestral nocturne ‘Fete’. I explored these rhythmic sources developing them in new directions giving priority to those avenues that seemed to accumulate tension. It was seeking to celebrate the power of rhythm to create drama and large-scale form. In the 1st movement I fragmented and deconstructed the rhythmic and melodic phrases of Debussy’s second orchestral nocturne in order to reconstruct them again in a new context. I sought to present these ideas in a more uncertain manner, with more than one pulse running through the music at any given time. The 2nd movement is a set of rhythmic variations on a simple theme clearly presented at the beginning of the piece. The 3rd movement is based on a piece I composed for marimba solo called Khan Variations, a set of 8 variations on a traditional theme as sang by the Pakistani singer Ali Kahn. As the title D’après Khan Variations suggests, in this 3rd movement I have subjected the original marimba variations to further transformations which take advantage of the polyphonic possibilities of the 9 instruments used in this piece. However, in this new development the role of the marimba remains central, like a backbone on which the rhythms and phrases played by the other instruments are supported. A.V. Cuaderno del Ritmo was jointly commissioned by the ensemble Cikada and the Ultima Festival. Premiere of new version: Cikada conducted by Christian Eggen at the Huddersfield Festival in UK, December 2001. |
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