Joan Gómez Alemany
Azhan
Duration: 26'
Instrumentation details:
alto saxophone in Eb
percussion
Azhan
Sample pages
Video
Work introduction
Azhan was commissioned by Parcours (Helena Otero Correa, saxohone and Miquel Vich Vila, percussion) and premiered the 16/01/2019 in Festival Barcelona Modern.
EXPLANATION OF THE PIECE: Divided into two related parts, the composition is based in a "traditional" music without wanting to recreate it, in order to reflect from the contemporary. The source of inspiration for this work is a trip to the Holy Land that the composer made between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, shortly after the Third Intifada. There he was able to appreciate the cultural mixture of the three monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism and Christianity) in their coexistence and tension. The work is inspired above all by Arabic singing, but also by a reinterpretation of the Jewish shofar instrument, in the same way as the sound of the bell associated with Christian churches. Although these sound elements are a starting point, new instrumental techniques and improvisation play a very important role.