mandolins
David Peters &
Dana Rath
mandola
Paul Binkley
mandocello
John Imholz
guest artist, violin
David Balakrishnan
of the
TURTLE ISLAND
STRING QUARTET
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This new release
from the Modern Mandolin Quartet features a guest performance by
David Balakrishnan (of Turtle Island String Quartet fame) who
also composed the title work, INTERPLAY. In addition, a new work
by Tully Cathey (ELEMENTS) and a mandolin version of Terry
Riley's G-SONG round out the CD.
David Balakrishnan's INTERPLAY and Tully Cathey's ELEMENTS
(Fire, Earth, Water, and Air) were composed for the Modern
Mandolin Quartet with the aid of a generous grant from the Meet
The Composer/Reader's Digest Commissioning Program, in
partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the
Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. Terry Riley's G SONG was
adapted by the MMQ at the suggestion of the composer.
INTERPLAY for Mandolin Quartet and Violin is a natural
integration of the major musical forces in David Balakrishnan's
life: classical Indian music, jazz and other American music, and
European classical music. Everything from improvisation to
highly structured counterpoint to intricate time signatures to
expansive lyrical passages are featured in this four-movement
work.
In Tully Cathey's own words: "ELEMENTS is inspired by the
quaternity of fire, earth, air and water. This universal
principle appears in myth, philosophy, religious tradition and
art throughout history and across cultures. However, it is my
personal experience with these forces of nature, as they appear
in the geographical region of my home in the Western United
States, that is my greatest source of inspiration for this
work."
G Song, originally performed by the composer on soprano
saxophone and electronic organ, was written as part of the
soundtrack for the 1973 French film by Alexander Whitelaw, Le
Secret de la Vie. Seven years later Terry Riley recomposed these
materials into a string quartet and it is this 1980 version that
the Modern Mandolin Quartet has adapted.
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About the MMQ
