Village Burial with Fire

James Wood

General Info

Year: 1989
Duration: c. 13:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: James Wood Edition
Cost: Score and Parts - $198.00   |   Score Only - $65.19

Instrumentation

Player I:
Player II:
Player III:
Player IV:

Program Notes

Paul Klee used to refer to his own work as ‘abstract with memories’. I hope he will allow me to borrow the term, at least in this instance.

Here the memories are of a Hindu, princely funeral ceremony - for two months the villagers have been making preparations - hundreds have turned out wearing their most lavish and colourful clothes, and carrying offerings of food on their heads. First there is the noisy procession down to the river for purification of the soul, then a short ceremony, and then the vast funeral pyre is set alight. At this moment it seems as though the whole village has exploded into music and dancing - soon, some go into trance. Gradually the physical form of the pyre disintegrates, and the spirit of the deceased is formally set free to mingle with the spirit world. In the evening, when the festivities have moved on to another place, some mourners lament beside the glowing embers.

Village Burial with Fire was commissioned by the Hungarian percussion group, Amadinda for the 1989 Arts Council Contemporary Music Network, with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain.

The first nine performances were given by Amadinda during their Arts Council tour of Britain during November 1989 in London, Leicester, Winchester, Cheltenham, Bristol, Manchester, Durham, Sheffield and Huddersfield. - James Wood

Commercial Discography

Village Burial with Fire - Robert Van Sice, Percussive Rotterdam. Mode Records: Mode 51

Recent Performances

October 1989, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

November 20, 2014, Yale Percussion Group - PASIC Indianapolis, 10:00 AM Showcase Concert
To submit a performance please join the TEK Percussion Database

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Barong - Percussion Duo; Pianos (2)
Cart-wheels - Multiple Percussion; Bass Clarinet
Choroi kai Thaliai (Revels and Dances) - Multiple Percussion; Voice - Soprano; Electronics
Cloud-Polyphonies - Percussion Sextet
Déploration - Marimba; String Quartet
Elanga N'Kake singing to his craft - Multiple Percussion - Narrator
Ho shang Yao (Songs by the River) - Multiple Percussion; Voice - Soprano
Jôdo - Multiple Percussion; Voice - Soprano; Electronics
Journey of the Magi - Percussion Septet; Chamber Ensemble
Le Petit Bossu (The Little Hunchback) - Percussion Trio; Reciter
Marsyapollonomachia - Multiple Percussion; Oboe
Mountain Language - Multiple Percussion; Alphorn; Live Electronics
Phaedrus - Multiple Percussion; Percussion Sextet; Voice - Baritone; Chorus; Wind Ensemble
Rogosanti - Multiple Percussion
Sea Dances - Percussion Trio
Séance - Vibraphone; Voice - Soprano; Chorus; Electronics
Secret Dialogues - Marimba
Shrine of Stored Incense - Multiple Percussion
Spirit Festival with Lamentations - Marimba (Quartertone); Percussion Quartet
Stoicheia - Percussion Duo; 2 Percussion Ensembles Sextet and Septet; 4 MIDI Keyboards; Tape and Amplification
T'ien chung Yao (Songs from the Fields) - Percussion Duo; Voice - Soprano; Cimbalom
The Priest of Shiga Temple - Marimba; Electronics
Two men meet, each presuming the other to be from a distant planet - Multiple Percussion; Chamber Ensemble
Venancio Mbande talking with the trees - Marimba (Quartertone); Chamber Ensemble
Village Burial with Fire - Percussion Quartet