Bailar en la lluvia

2010/15

"Dancing in the rain" - is inspired by the experience of the monsoon season in southern India: day and night, the clouds of their water masses unleashed themselves in all imaginable facets. It began with individual drops, built up into a huge, almost static wall of water, then subsided again, leaving behind a drenched, dripping landscape.

Summer rain - a wonderful relief for the joy of nature and people.

The sound material is based on Mianki Malhar, a raga of the rainy season that softens and dissolves in the course of the piece, only to manifest itself again at the end. A hint of tango is mixed in through the implied habanera rhythm...

While the piano builds up the background in a stoic drone, the cello conjures up a few flashes of timbre. The tabla tarang unfolds the raga above it.

Etudes for Tabla Tarang

These etudes are a collection of short, concise character pieces which can be used to practise and internalize harmonic relationships, fluency, hand movements, movement sequences, leaps and rhythms. The tonal material is in harmonic C minor.

No.1 "Homage to Bach"

Ascending and discending triadic chains are interrupted by a melismatic motif reminiscent of the main motif in Bach's E flat major Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier. However, while there it drives forward restlessly, here it has a more decelerating effect. This harmonic approach requires a high level of concentration, as instead of fluid runs, alternating drums are skipped throughout.

No.2 "Gallopp"

The lively 12/8 time signature is subdivided into units of three, whereby the second note is usually repeated. The time gained from this and suitable hand movements allow a focus on increasing the tempo.

No.3 "Fugato"

The three-bar theme is introduced in different pitches and appears again and again as a structural element, sometimes in abbreviated form. The development reaches from simple runs to large leaps, creating a great arc of tension that only calms down at the end.

No.4 "Swing"

Its cheeky and cheerful basic rhythmic motif runs through the entire piece. It moves energetically through all registers in different dynamics and directions.

No.5 "Dialog"

Based on the interplay between the high and low registers of the taranga, octave leaps are used to split the motifs into dialogs. The large intervals require a strong torsion and are a coordinative challenge for the player.

Tabla Tarang in dialog - Trio Rag Kirvani

The cycle "Trio Rag Kirvani" for tabla tarang, flute and violoncello is composed of six movements, some of which merge directly into one another, and contains elements of North Indian and European classical and contemporary music, with the last pieces traditionally complemented by tanpura and tabla.

1 "Sa is C" opens the cycle monochromatically on the common keynote. It begins very quietly out of nowhere and unfolds strong dynamic contrasts. For this I use noises and sounds that I have systematized on all three instruments.

2) "Tanpura-Bordun" is a homage to the accompanying instrument tanpura, which permanently produces the fundamental note and its fifth with an iridescent overtone spectrum, which are the reference points for all the notes of the raga. The tanpura forms the tonal foundation of every classical Indian musical performance and is imitated here by the three solo instruments in a polyrhythmic network of solos and accompaniments.

3. In "Alap" the tones of the raag kirvani and their relationship to each other and to the quintbordun of the tanpura are developed. The three instruments alternate between solo voice, commentator and fundamental accompaniment.

4. In the slow „Vilambitgat“, the rhythmized tala cycle is added and the tabla enters. On the basis of a recurring composition, variations and longer improvisations are created, which end with a tihai, a triple phrase on the first beat of the tala. In my composition, the four voices begin four beats apart, like in a canon. Taking the tintal into account, they continue with different progressions, with the common gat and various phrases and tone sequences creating the context. Such a form of polyphony is unusual in the predominantly monophonic Indian musical practice and, depending on the focus on one or the other instrument, creates a very individual synthesis of the simultaneous melodies.

5 The fast „Drutgat“ in quadruple tempo gives the three melodic instruments alternating virtuoso solos, leads into the sawal-jawaab, a question-and-answer game, and ends in the somewhat oblique-sounding simultaneity of the three gat melodies, to which the tabla can finally unleash itself in a virtuoso solo.

6 In the final movement, „Djala Finale“, the tempo is picked up again and thus becomes a form-giving element. The monophonic unison phrases are harmonized in their repetition in several voices, creating an oscillation between classical Indian and European music.

Fugato

This piece was initially written for tabla tarang solo and was loosely based on a baroque ricercata. The violoncello counterpart was then added, completing the thematic interweaving and development of the three-bar basic theme. The piece can be performed with different instruments, whereby the range of the upper voice was determined by the ambitus of my Taranga.

Sonate per due violoncelli, Allegro

This first movement is stylistically based on the early classical period, but does not claim to fully comply with the rules of the time.
Two almost equal voices lead alternately, run parallel and accompany each other. The rhythmically lively theme is hardly softened and is only given different shades of color through the harmonic major-minor alternation.

Vals de Folia

A chain of variations on the famous Spanish folia theme in the consistently fast tempo of the tango vals. Inspired by the many baroque models, a tension is built up between the two melody instruments. The upper part can optionally be played by a cello, a flute or another melody instrument.

Hora Fantasma

The „whiching hour“ is heralded with eerie trembling and builds up to a somewhat weird tango with chromatic nuances. Between a clear melody and bass part, the two middle cellos play with different timbres, alternately running parallel or setting contrasts. At the end, the opening motif is taken up again, bringing the spook to an end.

Indira Tango

For Indian and European instruments, it begins and ends with a trio of piano and two cellos, joined in the middle section by tabla tarang, sitar and flute. The main motif introduced by the sitar wanders through the instruments and is accompanied by changing instrumentation. The challenge for the performers lies in the optimal combination of the timbres and dynamics of these very different instruments.

Fugación de Tango

The tabla tarang begins with a clearly structured theme, which is taken over by the violoncello and then by the violin, while the forerunners change into accompanying voices. As the piece progresses, the violin takes the lead, alternating with the taranga, which accompanies in runs on a carpet of tremoloed octaves in the cello. After a rhythmic and dynamic climax, which is particularly physically demanding for the taranga player due to leaps in octave parallels, the opening theme is repeated at the end and increasingly shortened.