Music for a Royal Palace
Christopher Adler
About this work:
Music for a Royal Palace is an homage to the Bang Pa-In Palace in Ayuthaya, Thailand, built in the mid-nineteenth century with an opulent juxtaposition of Thai, Chinese and Western architectural styles. The latter half of the work is an arrangement of the Thai classical melody Jin Khim Lek, composed in a Chinese style by Thai composer Khruu Mii Khaek not long before Bang Pa-In was built. Both the structure and broadly embellished form of this arrangement are characteristic of Thai classical music, while the parts for each individual instrument are an invented hybrid of Thai, Chinese and Western idioms.
Music for a Royal Palace was commissioned by Carnegie Hall through The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the Silk Road Project, Inc. The world premiere is to be given at Carnegie Hall in September, 2006.
Year composed: 2006
Duration: 00:17:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Percussion (General), 1 Marimba, 1 Viola, 1 Other Wind Instrument(s)
Instrumentation notes: Sheng (Chinese mouth organ; requires 21-pipe sheng in D major or larger)
Percussion part is for 1-3 players (excluding marimba)