For percussion trio, includes score and parts. Bahamut, (the immense fish, of terrifying beauty, on which the universe ultimately rests), is a movement from the suite based on entries from The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges. Composer, Mark Saya, "makes his effects by a few well-chosen timbres deployed in space and across silence with a precise control of rhythmic eloquence and of small but telling color changes." (The New Yorker)
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Review from Percussive Notes:
This unusual trio is scored for tubular chimes (pedal fixed down) and three sets of crash cymbals. The chime player also performs on a piano, using a cluster bar that will cover the entire range of the piano. The piano is to be prepared with the damper pedal fixed down. The title is derived from Moslem legend and describes a large fish of terrifying beauty, which fades in and out of focus in the human mind. The composition is in a rapid tempo (quarter note = 240), and the rhythmic frame shifts between 5/4 and 7/4, written in a sequence of repeated 5/4 bars, changing to a 7/4 cadence to the phrase or motive. The tonal patterns seem to be in a partial row, built around an F. With the chimes and cymbals, often marked “LV,” interesting sound clusters and timbres will occur. The form is a loose ABA, with the middle section scored entirely for cymbals. There are many measures of silence, so careful counting is required. The composition can be performed in a little under five minutes.
-George Frock
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