My Balkan Songbook began with a commission from the outstanding Cavatina Duo to write a piece for their "Music from the Balkans" concert programme. This was to be something between an arrangement and composition, though as I later learned the idea really was to create an original composition using pre-existing material from a folk song. As I worked on the piece and began listening to more of the music from the region, I became increasingly drawn in to the incredibly rich musical culture of the Balkans. Though of course the varies greatly from country to country (and even within individual countries), common traits emerge in the use of complex, asymmetrically-structured meter/rhythm and modal scales/harmonies.
The songbook is conceived as an ongoing, somewhat open-ended project, with more pieces gradually being added in the next years, ranging from fairly straightforward arrangements to more abstract musical "games" played with the material provided by the music of the Balkans.
Sivi Grivi: based on a Bulgarian dance in 7/8 time.
Commissioned by the Cavatine Duo (flautist Eugenia Moliner and guitarist Denis Azabagic), and first performed by them in 2008.
The Shepherd's Dream: While perusing a folksong collection, I came across a little tune labelled as "Croatian Lovesong". Though only eight bars long and extremely simple in its rhythmic and melodic construction, I became somewhat obsessed by the haunting beauty of this melody. I am often troubled by these "earworms" (as the Germans call them), which in many cases I can only expel by writing a piece using the tune! In any case, as I sang the melody over and over in my mind, an image began to form of a shepherd on a hillside in the still evening air, playing variations on the melody as he fell asleep, into a dream of his lost love...
First performance: Cavatine Duo, 2008.
Balkan Songbook (2007 - ) [work in progress]
for flute and guitar
Sivi grivi (4:20)
The shepherd's dream (6:00)
