Tagore Songs
Jane Brockman
About this work:
In India, a young performer learns his instrument by studying with a singer--so the music will always a a vocal foundation. I’ve tried to emulate this, and the improvisatory spirit of the music, although the piece is fully notated. The movement titles are fragments from the writings of Bengali poet, philosopher, mystic, painter, musician Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) whose work, revisited recently, holds even more power for me than it did twenty years ago. The inspiration for this piece came from William Powell, one of its dedicatees, whose knowledge and deep love of Indian music caused me to explore it as a source of alternative resources. As well as the prerecorded electronics on CD, the second movement employs a pitch to MIDI converter, the PitchRider, which allows the clarinet real-time control of an additional synthesizer. A pick-up microphone in the clarinet is also connected to reverb and delay devices. The other three movement of the piece can be performed without this movement, if a pitch to MIDI converter is unavailable. Movements can be performed separately.
Version: clarinet solo with prerecorded electronics on CD
Year composed:
Duration: 00:00:00
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard
Instrumentation: 1 Clarinet
Instrumentation notes: solo clarinet and re-recorded sounds on CD