Meditation and Dance
Meditation and Dance explores my continued fascination with rhythmic and melodic characteristics of Bulgarian horo, of which there are over 100 different types. Following a two-part slow meditation on simple melodic intervals of seconds and minor thirds, the saxophone and harp join together in a perpetual motion dance abstractly based upon the stylistic characteristics of a Sandansko horo and a Pravo horo, both of which make use of mixed triple and duple divisions of the beat.
The harp and alto saxophone play much of their music heterophonically, so that the sounds of these two very different instruments are ultimately unified into a single unique timbre, philosophically similar to the manner in which people may awaken and dance together.
Meditation and Dance is approximately 9 minutes in duration.
Commission/
Dedication
Admiral Launch Duo
Jonathan Hulting-Cohen and Jennifer R. Ellis
Kontra Duo
Dannel Espinoza and Kristina Finch
Joshua Thomas and Megan Sesma
of the United States Coast Guard Band
Idit Shner
of the University of Oregon
Edward Goodman
of the University of Arizona
Instrumentation
- Alto Saxophone
- Harp