Waking Dance

Original CD front cover. Image: Sugar Free Designs/Christopher Best

In December 2000 I was approached by the choreographer Indra Thiagarajah of Bimba Dance Theatre to collaborate on a project bringing western contemporary, South Indian classical and traditional Caribbean dance languages together. It was to be an exploration of the rituals that have emerged in response to that most inevitable but uncharted of territories - death.

Over a period of two years we worked with dancers from the Jamaican National Dance Company, under the guiding eye of their principal director Barry Moncrieffe. Indra hatched a scenario that seamlessly interwove myths from the Mahabharata, (in particular the story of Savitri and Satyavan) with Jamaican folklore. I helped shape the structure into a dramatically satisfying form and began to consider what music I could possibly create for this project. I knew I should avoid pastiche Indian or Jamaican music, as these lay wholly outside my own tradition. At the same time, I felt strongly that my musical language would need a powerful shot of something new and strange

I began to experiment with non-tempered scales and by embracing a diverse range of non-western instruments, each with its own distinctive scale; such as the Gyile (or Ghanaian xylophone) with its stretched octaves, and the Balinese Gamelan with its unusually tuned 5-note scale. The result was an unearthly, at times disturbing, sound that at the same time remained faithful to my techniques and language.

Original CD back cover. Image: Sugar Free Designs/Christopher Best

The dance 'Twilight Tempest' was performed extensively between Autumn 2001 and Winter 2002. Principal performers included Neila Ebanks as Savitri and Mark Hall as Yama. Many people approached me afterwards asking for a copy of the music and I had a strong inclination to find a way of giving this unusual score an after-life of its own. For the CD version I have adhered closely to the original sequence of events; ensuring that the narrative remains clear and logical. But I have also been able to reinstate certain musical passages (Gyile Song and Processional for example) that never made it into the final dance score.

I am grateful to the following individuals and organisations for their support and assistance; to Indra for having such faith in me, to the dancers for their inspiration, to all the wonderful musicians who played or sang on the album, to East Midlands Arts and to The National Lottery for their generous support funding the dance tours.

Moragh Brooksbank, Maryam Best – Vocals

Charlotte Stock, Andrew Jones, Anna Clark – Strings

Silbert Morris, Henry Miller - Djembe, Kumina Drums

Elizabeth Hall - Marimba, Xylophone, Gyil (Ghanaian Xylophone), Djembe, Stick

Christopher Best - Marimba, Glass, Voices, Sequencing, Sampling

Madeleine Bischof - Contrabass Flute

Peter Bernard – Trumpet

Leo Bachmann - Contrabass Tuba

With members of the Dartington College of Arts Balinese Gamelan led by Saj Heming

Recording engineer - Christopher Best

Twilight Tempest of Love and Death promotional poster.jpg

Twilight Tempest of Love and Death promotional poster

How to purchase 

The complete CD (as 10 individual tracks @44.1Khz, 24-bit) may be purchased for £10.

Request using the contact page

I will then send you BACS details and a download link

Published 
2003
Opus 
45
Duration 
59 mins 14 secs
Music for dance
Instrumentation 
Fixed media
Listen 

Waking Dance by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance complete album

WakIng Dance 01 Spirits of Yamalya by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 01 Spirits of Yamalya. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 02 Gyile Song by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 02 Gyile Song. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 03 The Veiling by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 03 The Veiling. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 04 Last Chorus by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 04 Last Chorus. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 05 Yama's Kingdom by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 05 Yama's Kingdom. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 06 Processional by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 06 Processional. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 07 Mortal Love by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 07 Mortal Love. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 08 Wake Dances (Kumina, Pacha, Yanvalu) by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 08 Wake Dances (Kumina, Pacha, Yanvalu). Kumina drum and djembe solos written by Silbert Morris. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 09 The Unveiling by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 09 The Unveiling. For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud

Waking Dance 10 The Deceit; 11 A Fire Ritual (Agna Ayahi Vitaye) by Chrisbestmusic

Waking Dance 10 The Deceit; 11 A Fire Ritual (Agna Ayahi Vitaye). For track sleeve notes click through to Soundcloud
First performance 
Autumn 2001 (as music to Indra Thiagarajah's 'Twlight Tempest of Love and Death')
Funded by