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Prisms, Cycles, Leaps is an orchestral piece that bridges the space between the music of the Balkans, the Volta Region of Ghana and North Indian Hindustani classical music. The time signature of the piece is in a foundational 3/2, but shifts its emphasis to 6/4, 12/8, and 7/8 +5/8 in different sections by using polyrhythmic ostinatos that are found in traditional Ghanaian drumming and dance. Hypermeters are also used to draw attention to larger cycles that occur in the piece. The melodic lines of Prisms, Cycles, Leaps combine elements of Balkan music and Hindustani classical music. While the melodic lines use an ornamentation specific to Bulgarian women’s choir music (similar to accaciaturas and mordents found in Baroque music), the larger form of the melodic lines resembles the tihai rhythmic cadence and the long phrases found in improvised Hindustani classical music. Tihai is a thrice-repeated rhythmic phrase in an overlapping meter that is used to end a section or conclude a piece in Hindustani classical music. The title Prisms, Cycles, Leaps references a search for beauty in life and nature through multiple and varied yet cyclical experiences.
Instrumentation
Flute I, II / Piccolo Oboe I
English Horn
Bb Clarinet
Bass Clarinet
Bassoon I
Contrabassoon / Bassoon II
F-Horn I, II
Bb Trumpet I / Bb Piccolo Trumpet Bb
Trumpet II / Bb Piccolo Trumpet
Trombone I
Trombone II
3 Percussionists (single part with three staves)
Timpani (set up with second snare drum nearby)
Tubular Bells
Mallets (Marimba + Vibraphone + Xylophone + Bowed Crotales)
Snare Drum
Roto Toms + Floor Tom
Percussion (Bass Drum + Suspended Cymbal 20’’ + Tam Tam + Tambourine on a stand)
Hand Percussion: by rotating percussion, winds (from their seat), and last chairs of the first and second violins.
Harp
Piano
Five-String Electric Bass with sustain pedal
Violin I 8-14
Violin II 8-14
Viola 6 -10
Violoncello 6 – 8
Double Bass 2 – 6
