Bedhaya Sadra/Bedhaya Guthrie

(1989; 1992) clarinet, pelog gendér, kemanaka)

with I Wayan Sadra

solo clarinet arrangement by Daniel Goode

This computer composed work was commissioned and premiered by the Astra Choir, Melbourne, Australia, in 1989. The piece was written while I was living in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. It is a series of three different melodic "morphs" between the Woody Guthrie tune "Rangers' Command" and a tune written at my request by my friend the Indonesian composer I Wayan Sadra. The morphs use my own melodic mutation software, written in HMSL. The original score, published in Perspectives of New Music, is for gamelan, kemanak (special percussion instruments), singers and melody instruments. Central Javanese Bedhaya is a classical dance/music form using kemanak, a unique melodic vocal style, and an unusual gendér style. Bedhaya Sadra... is a "modular" work in which the ensemble forms a performance out of a large number of melodic mutations, according to guidelines in the score. Daniel Goode, clarinetist, composer, member of Gamelan Son of Lion (which performed this piece), and one of my musical heroes, made a "solo" version of the piece for his Interesting Melodies project, arranging a number of the melodies into one continuous piece, retaining the original pelog tuning. Dan and I subsequently made a stuio recording of the piece, with me playing gendér and Dan and me playing kemanak.

For this performance, Molly Paccione will become the second clarinetist to perform the piece. The gendér is borrowed from Grinnell College, and I would like to greatly thank Roger Vetter for lending it to us, and for measuring its tuning so that we could rehearse the piece long distance.

LP

2/15/98

Lebanon, NH