The Ritual

This piece consists of two sections, both stemming from a very clear idea. I was inspired by Stravinsky to write a piece about a ritual, and I was inspired by the Mayan culture, which I had recently read about. What I wanted was a piece that sounds like the accompanying for a brutal sacrifice of a human. Just as with Stravinsky, the first section, the one performed on the vibraphone, is a sunset. A tranquil setting hinting that something terrible is going to happen. Then the priest indicates that the ritual is about to be performed by striking the drums in a 9/4 rhythm 3 times. And then the ritual starts.

I worked a lot with intervals and dissonances in the vibraphone section, and with different underlying rhythms in the percussion section.