IMBAHL is the title of the third CD I brought out of my music while CDs were still being used as a primary means for the dissemination of music.  I named this CD after the Javanese interlocking technique ‘imbal’ comparable in Western music only to the Mediëval Hocket.  It seemed appropriate at the time because the CD was to contain music that could be specifically linked to the forms of Javanese and Balinese gamelan that had been so influential in changing the way I looked at the way music can be used to disseminate meaning. It is also the title of one of the works on the CD, perhaps the most intense exercise in the practical application of another culture’s techniques to Western music.
The gamelan is an orchestra of percussive instruments typified by what is referred to in the world of ethnomusicology as ‘colotomy’; the way sequences of larger percussion instruments such as gongs form the foundation for repeating sequences, always ending on the largest gong restarting the sequence from the beginning. Although the structure and repetition of the gong sequences remain constant, variation is allowed around them as the tempo changes – under the control of the kendang (drum) - and other levels of rhythmic and melodic complexity can fall away or develop.  Colotomic structures in their constancy and complexity are unique to the gamelan. It was the historical result of the great Hindu-Buddhist empires which spread down into Indonesia from ancient history until the 12th century.
I deliberately chose a misspelling of the Indonesian word ‘imbal’ for the title. The word ‘ba’al’ itself is directly connotative of an ancient Semitic God (it translates to ‘lord’) who was later, like many heretic gods, changed into a demon. It seemed appropriate in an intercultural work of any kind to misappropriate a word or a sound and ascribe to it personal meanings.  Interculturality is often a dynamic creative relationship but it usually tells more about what the person participating in it gets out of for him or herself; how they use this interculturally attained knowledge to better understand their own world. 
This collection primarily consists of excerpts or fragments from the original recordings.  Some of the longer works like ‘Project-3’ were entirely remixed to highlight the most memorable moments and to avoid using up time unnecessarily. Scores of these works are available from the Australian Music Centre in Sydney and requests can be made to me personally for either scores or complete unedited recordings: zachar@nachtschimmen.eu.


Transmigration-2 Selection 4

06 Imbahl - 1 (fragments)

Transmigration-2 Selection 3

04 Aural Transgressions (fragments)

Transmigration-2 Selection 2

Het Loket

Transmigration-2 Selection 1

This is the first of the Seven Incessant Cycles  for solo piano player performing. Each of the cycles is in various fashions extendable in length with passages that can be gradually lengthened of reduced.  The piano player is free to start with any of the seven pieces, then play one of six transitions which will lead it to the cycling that occurs in the next piece chosen.
 
The term 'piano player performing' is important here because a set of extra-musical choreographed movements, emotional states and/or gestures are included as part of the score. So the piano player is not only playing the piano; he or she is performing in a different fashion as well.  This is the ominous cycle; romantic dramatic gestures emerge as a natural result as the performer is forced to jump continually with his left hand from the bottom of the piano to the higher notes.  The foreboding rises until finally the piece either climaxes or leads to a transition passage to one of the other 'Incessant Cycles'.  The performing piano player is evidently aware of the ominous atmosphere created by his music but unfortunately the movements required do not allow him to escape the piano and so he has to do his best to dubdue his desire to flight...

This composition is a complete performance of the work in that there are certain passages that can be repeated at the discretion of the performer.  Scores are availabe which include all instructions relating to the general sense the movements are supposed to evoke in this 'Incessant Cycle'. They can also be viewed on a personal video performance I'll release soon.  The score is currently available from me personally or the Australian Music Centre in Sydney, Australia.


Ominous Cycle

'Sharing Moonlight', initially taken from the epithet 'Sharing Moonlinght on a Summer Eve' is a dance I composed for the incomplete opera planned while I was teaching composition in China. Although this is an electronic version, it was initially intended for a chamber orchestra and scores are available from my website or through the Australian Music Centre in Sydney.

When I chose to return to China after my professorships in theatre and performance in Taiwan were dogged by ill-health, I decided to go and teach composition and try not to be too influenced by my environment as I was becoming overwhelmed with stimulation. Unfortunately, closing the door to inspiration is not only not easy; it's just impossible if you're a creative artist (at least for me). Working at the conservatorium at the University of Zhao Qing and hearing the performers practicing late into the warm summer evenings on the exquisite and long Chinese wooden flutes led to the composition of this contemplative work which would find itself into the story of the opera of an emperor who wakes up unable to remember who he is and what his possible role could be in the royal court which surrounds him in bitterness and intrigue. In this scene I initially envisaged the emperor looking out beyond the restricting walls of the court to hear sounds which evoked something he couldn't quite remember about his past - something quite possibly lost forever. He stands alone; so he's sharing the moonlight with a faded part of his own history which is attempting to direct his attention away from the evils of courtly existence.

It should also be mentioned that this composition started out as a variation on a composition exercise I had put to my students, to apply their creative energies to a simple Chinese folk melody. This was one of my interpretations. It's interesting and ironic to note that my students looked shocked when I played it to them, many not really considering it music at all. Getting people to be creative with limited means is a useful exercise if you have students open-minded enough to utilise the many other options not connected to drum-machines and electronic harmonic beat-box pop formats that seemed to restrict their sense of what they could define as music.

Sharing Moonlight

This is a remixed version of the complete recording.  At the moment the full score is available via the Australian Music Centre in Sydney or from me personally.

The 'Dreaming and Dancing Overture', is a plot related event I had envisaged while planning the story: the emperor, still completely overwhelmed by an intrigue-filled and incomprehensible environment he hardly recognises, is lulled into sleep by a staid court dance performed for him by his servants.  At the moment he falls asleep the dynamism suddenly changes and only within the context of the dream does he remember his ‘real’ life outside of his royal prison. At the time I imagined that the dance would suddenly change from being staid and stately to vital and lively while the emperor realises for the first time that he may in fact be an unwitting victim in a game whose rules he can’t begin to fathom. 

I composed this work for an opera known as ‘Huangaditamon Menateladonamontelidas’ which roughly translates to the for the emperor – music, from a language which I had written myself. I planned to write dialogue within the court in English, but all attempts at communication from the ‘real world’ outside the confines of the court, would be in this entirely artificial but still incredibly complex language rich in cultural content. The language within the court was to be formal and dead whereas ‘Ymolah’ spoken at some lost time by the Emperor was to be dynamic and exciting.  It’s interesting to note that the word for emperor includes the Chinese word; I was influenced to write this opera while observing life in China, and the various music and music-theatre forms I encountered while I was in China and Taiwan.

At the time I wrote this work, I was teaching composition to a class of students who I discovered, ironically, couldn’t speak a word of English. Although this is an electronic version, it was initially intended for a chamber orchestra and scores are available from my website or through the Australian Music Centre in Sydney.

It should also be mentioned that this composition started out as a variation on a composition exercise I had put to my students, to apply their creative energies to a simple Chinese folk melody. This was one of my interpretations. A more elaborate set of variations can be found in the other major musical composition ‘Sharing Moonlight’ I actually ended up composing.  It's interesting and ironic to note that my students looked shocked when I played these works to them. I found our later that it wasn’t that didn’t find it good or bad. They just didn’t think it was ‘music’. Getting people to be creative with limited means is a useful exercise if you have students open-minded enough to utilise the many other options not connected to drum-machines and electronic harmonic beat-box pop formats that seemed to restrict their sense of what they could define as music. Forcing them to do this, especially if they don’t understand anything you’re saying, is naturally impossible.


Dreaming & Dancing Overture for Chamber Ensemble (remix)

Although I compose music and perform, above all I'm a creative artist interested in the relationship between music, movement and other systems of signification.

Dr Zachàr Laskewicz