Concert Program

“Pagian” opens the concert with a small ensemble of gangsa metallophones from the Balinese gamelan angklung. Beginning in the serenity and stillness of early morning, the ensemble picks up into a stoic groove, where the angklung instruments are joined by the rest of the group.

“Thai por Solea” reorients the groove into the meter of an Andalusian por solea from the flamenco tradition. Shifting from the gamelan instruments to the guitar, the tone color is enriched by the sounds of the Thai khaen, wot, and khlui in the air.

“Leta’s Song” is an exploration of Thai folk idioms, featuring the khim, a Thai hammer dulcimer.

“Siangan” reintroduces the gamelan angklung. The gangsa players alternate in call and response, ushering in the sweltering heat of high noon. The guzheng, a Chinese zither, picks up the melody.

“Nicolae 1” begins with the creaking of a fiddle played with only a bow hair tied to the string. Nicolae Neacşu was a Roma fiddler who performed with the Romanian Roma group Taraf de Haidouks. This piece showcases a Balkan idiom that mixes musical elements from Roma, Ashkenazi, and Eastern European local traditions.

“Yearnings of a Forlorn Poet” is a reflection on a poem of Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.

“Sorean” invites evening’s haze to fall, bringing back the sounds of the gamelan angklung. The offset tuning of the gamelan instruments casts jittery shadows across the ensemble.

“Nicolae 2” takes the harmonies of Nicolae 1 and sets a melody and rhythm to them.

“Can” brings the ensemble together around the haunting sound of the khaen, a mouth organ played in Laos and Thailand.

“Malaman” closes the concert in a similar fashion as how it started, with the suspended sounds of the gamelan angklung dotting the air like stars.