Programme Notes
《Migrant Voices》commissioned by the Sound of Dragon Ensemble, with the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts
“I remember reading Italo Calvino’s (1923-1985) fantastic book “Invisible Cities” (1972) many years ago. It is an imagined set of conversations between the famous traveler, Marco Polo, and the emperor of the 13th century Mongolian empire, Kublai Khan. Each chapter of the book is a prose poem, describing in amazing detail an imaginary city that Marco Polo ”discovered” in his travels, and I remember being deeply inspired by it as a young person. In a similar way perhaps, the music of “Migrant Voices” is a kind of a “discovered” folk song, from an imaginary city, country or culture. Based on a 9/8 + 7/8 time signature, it definitely has elements taken from certain Balkan/Greek music, Turkish or Armenian. Not sure, to tell you the truth, exactly why and how- it just came to me one day as if a voice whispered it in my ear”. ~ Erez
Composer
Conductor