composer
Ronald Ford was born September 29, 1959 in Kansas City, U.S.A. He moved to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1983.
Education: Ford studied composition, piano and computer engineering at the Duke University ...
related works
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Vocal Ensemble (2-12) and instrument(s)
Scoring:
4bar 2sax-t 2trb 2cb
Tjempaka : for string quartet, 1996 / Will Eisma
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
String Quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)
Scoring:
2vl vla vc
Virtuality : for saxophone quartet / Chiel Meijering
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Saxophone
Scoring:
sax-s sax-a sax-t sax-bar
La Sfida : for orchestra / Luc Van Hove
Genre:
Unknown
composition
Al-Fâtiha / Ron Ford
Description:
Program note (English): In the recitation of the Koran, the singer balances between speaking recitation and sung aria. When I was asked to write a piece for the Volharding, I wanted to try to get a new sound from the group. It was not my idea to write a solo concerto, but more a piece wherin one player continually gave information to the group. This function quickly became that of a reciter, and thus the link with the Koran was complete. Al-fatiha is in various ways based on the first verse of the Koran, titled 'the opening'. Throughout the piece the trombone part is derived from this performance of the Koran verse, and the soloist is continously feeding information to the rest of the ensemble. The ensemble reacts upon this information with shadow notes and harmonies, articulation, and unexpected interruptions. Later in the piece it is the (Arabic) text that steers the music. Syllabes and words are translated into a stuttering, spattering tutti. In the end, it is the singer himself (on tape) that
leads the piece towards its end. The recording begins close and intimate, and changes slowly to the acoustics of a mosque, and finally ends in the beautifully distorted sound recognizable as that of the Koran thrown into the world from the turrets. - RON FORD