TLAPITZALLI 2
Commissioned for a choreography by Jane Wheatley at the Royal Academy of Dance, in 1987.
Choreographed in 1988 by Joel Valentin-Martinez at the Royal Academy of Dance with Alison Back, flute and Roy Sinclair, percussion. Performed by Fulcrum Point New Music Project with trumpet player Stephen Burns.
Tlapitzalli 2 is a work conceived to be performed also without choreography.
In this score I began to explore the possibilities of manipulating rhythm and structure influenced by my interest in the music of India. With Tlapitzalli 2 I found for the first time that Indian rhythmic procedures can be applied and enriched harmonically in Western music.
I also transcribed and transformed one rhythmic phrase used in Kathak dance in the second section of the piece.
Tlapitzalli is the náhuatl name for the Aztec flute which was made of clay. Two referes to the second piece of this title I wrote and to the number of performers.