Xati

Inspired by South Indian Carnatic music and the percussion works of Xenakis, Xati is an exciting yet sophisticated tambourine quintet, filled with polyrhythms and primitivism.

Program Notes

In the spring of 2007 I spent two months listening to South Indian Carnatic music on my commute to work in the morning and Xenakis's percussion works on my way home from work in the evening. The effect of this listening schedule was a dream I had in which Xenakis himself was wandering around South India. He was gigantic, with spindly legs and a shock of hair, lost and yet at home in the subcontinent. A curious drumming accompanied him, which provided the inspiration for Xati. I've drawn on the Carnatic concept of jati, or different polyrhythmic subdivisions, infused with Xenakis's formalized primitivism.

– P.M.

Grade Level: Medium Advanced
Copyright: 2022
Number of Players: 5
Duration: 7:35

Listen to Recordings

Sample PDF

Instrumentation

Tambourine 1
Tambourine 2
Tambourine 3
Tambourine 4
Tambourine 5