Works > YAY BE

YAY BE

Cross Road
Written in:
1996 - 1997
Duration:
7'
Instrumentation:
double-manual harpsichord
Commisioned by

Commissioned by Jane Chapman funded by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1997.

Premiere

Premiered in London in 1997 at the Purcell Room, South Bank by Jane Chapman, Harpsichord.

Programme Note

Yay Be in the Mayan language spoken in Yucatan, refers to the point where one road branches out into two, or two roads converge into one. This is reflected in contrasting musical ideas; melodic fluidity, and incisive rhythmic patterns, which are constantly changing direction, and then reasserting their identity, sometimes taking a sudden new route or merging smoothly into completely new material. As the work proceeds these ideas are thrown into different perspectives as they are played in varied transpositions.