Raga Saat

Description

Flute 1, Flute 2, Flute 3, Flute 4 — PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE NOTESRaga Saat (2011) is a companion work to my first Raga quartet Raga Cha. Similarly, Raga Saat is not based on an authentic Raga, but rather attempts to emulate the sound world through the use of various extended flute techniques. It is repetitive and meditative in character. Many sounds are created with a technique where the flutist enunciates the syllable cha to produce a desired toneless and rough sounding effect.Raga Saat is in 7/8 time. Saat is an English translation of the number seven in Hindi. RAGA SAATxa0plays with several polyrhythmic patterns that define the rhythmic flavor of the piece. There are at least two (if not three or four) distinctive subdivisions of time, including 4+3 and 3+3+1. A further subdivision of 3+3+3+3+2 (in 16ths) is heard in the bass voice at most times providing a hemiola-like ostinato. An isorhythmic talea acts as a drone, imitating the Surpeti (Swar Peti) or Shruti Box, while the other voices provide melodic figurations. Raga Saat, the second in a series of flute ensemble works by Canadian composer-flutist Derek Charke, creates a uniquely mesmerizing soundworld. Using post-minimal ostinatos in 7 (saat = seven) with criss-crossing syncopations, Raga Saat explores percussive and unfamiliar textures from beatboxing and other expanded techniques to create a dazzling sound environment.