Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- John Kameel Farah
Maqam Constellation (2017)
- Bosworth Music (World)
Unavailable for performance.
- electronics
- Piano (=Synthesizer)
- 5 min 11 s
Programme Note
Over the years, I’ve developed an approach to improvisation for myself, where the left hand strums a drone in the bass, and the right hand slowly outlines an asymmetrical scale structure. Perhaps it could be likened to a surreal, uneven staircase with steps of different sizes. A “maqam” is a scale or mode in middle-eastern music, and I named this “Maqam Constellation”, because it brought to mind medieval astronomy, and marvelling at the night sky. To me, the process of exploring the melodic contours of a scale structure like this, is like an archaeologist delicately dusting off sand and earth to slowly reveal an object. These improvisations are also opportunities for me to combine ancient middle-eastern and futuristic aesthetics. In my imagination, cities adorned with sphinxes, lamassus, ziggurats and other megalithic, ancient monuments could easily also exist in cities of the future. It’s
a way to use my role as “composer” to also be a kind of science fiction writer.
- John Kameel Farah
a way to use my role as “composer” to also be a kind of science fiction writer.
- John Kameel Farah