Shaahin's polymicro-2.mp3

Dear Shaahin,

Thank you for polymicro-2.mp3, a piece with a vitality that might
remind me a bit of certain Eastern European popular musics, although
the language seems very cosmopolitan and hard to "pin down"
geographically. Maybe about 25 years ago I heard a recording of
Ukrainian music just a bit like this. There could also be a suggestion
of some lively interpretations of medieval European dance music: the
repeated and catchy phrases and the rhythmic motion can have that
effect, very pleasantly unifying the piece.

The instrumentation is beautiful and captivating -- not that I'm the
first to say this! If I didn't know that this was a "polymicrotonal"
piece, I might not have guessed: what I might hear is more a contrast
of two themes or turns of phrase, very nicely done.

By the way, in some of this thread I saw interesting remarks, or links to
remarks, about some of the source material being Near Eastern, and
specifically an example of Maqam Rast -- which is subject to many
different interpretations, apparently. It's fascinating how what struck me
about your setting was the "universal" character -- and I should more
closely consider the tuning system that you describe, another topic for
further conversation.

Maybe we could discuss the piece more: I consider offering
conversation about things that people have composed and shared here
one of the most important purposes of MMM.

My apologies for not getting around to this sooner; in another message
I'll explain some of the distractions.

Peace and love,

Margo