Gaelic Weaving Sampler
Barbara Benary
About this work:
This piece is a translation of a piece of fabric to a piece of music. The Sampler itself is a brief piece of cloth I produced as an assignment in an introductory weaving class which I took in the summer of 2004 at Gaelic College in the town of St. Anne’s, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Sampler contains seven variations on the twill weave separated by the so-called “simple weave” or tabby (after which cats are named).
Weaving patterns are defined numerically: the numbers 1-4 on the pattern or chart represent the four threads of warp on a tabletop loom. Across them the shuttle sends the perpendicular weft threads with which the weaver can manipulate different colors. The shifting numbers in the chart of instructions are the ups and downs of the different treadle combinations which create the different visual patterns. Over this mathematical weave are set seven Scottish-Gaelic songs which I was simultaneously learning in another class. The quartet renders them in solo and in overlapping canonic froms.
Version: string quartet and gamelan
Year composed: 2005
Duration: 00:17:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 10+ players
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: Gamelan uses Javanese instruments in traditional tuning, with at least 8 players. String quartet must adjust tuning to the nondiatonic gamelan.