Bayati3

Bayati3 is a work for piano trio that explores pitch materials taken from Arabic classical maqamat, viewed from the prism of Western contemporary composition. The piece presents as a series of static and unconnected situations from which poetic ideas develop and are cut off abruptly – often in the moment in which they come into focus – without being able to resolve. Bayati is one of most frequently employed modes in the levantine tradition, with its characteristic opening sequence of two intervals of three-quarter tone. In writing Bayati3, I was interested in this rich pitch material and how to intertwine it with elements taken from my previous pieces, such as resonance effects on the piano and static insistant processes. Bayati3 is part of an ongoing cycle that accompanies my research of Arabic classical music and musical traditions of the Middle East, which include L’abri d’Al-‘Amiriyya and Sunbati’s Time; it is also my second work for piano trio after Underscore (for flute, cello and piano).