For nearly a quarter of a century before he undertook a thorough and systematic study of Indonesian gamelan in 1975, Lou Harrison had been incorporating elements of gamelan in his work. It's no surprise, then, that even after he had mastered an understanding of the authentic instruments, the tuning systems, and the structure of gamelan, his works for the ensemble did not mimic his Indonesian models, but continued to display his individualism as an American composer. Two of the three works here, written between 1980 and 1989 ...
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For nearly a quarter of a century before he undertook a thorough and systematic study of Indonesian gamelan in 1975, Lou Harrison had been incorporating elements of gamelan in his work. It's no surprise, then, that even after he had mastered an understanding of the authentic instruments, the tuning systems, and the structure of gamelan, his works for the ensemble did not mimic his Indonesian models, but continued to display his individualism as an American composer. Two of the three works here, written between 1980 and 1989, include vocal soloists and chorus singing in English. Scenes from Cavafy is made up of Harrison's own loose translations of three poems by early 20th century Greek writer Constantine P. Cavafy. The intersection of the three cultures -- near Eastern, contemporary American, and traditional Indonesian -- makes for fascinating juxtapositions, and yet manages to maintain an integrated cohesion. A Soedjatmoko Set, with a text taken from the Hindu Ramayana, makes a similar impression; the...
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