tigres azules – blue tigers
for sixteen players

tigres azules (blue tigers) borrows its title from a story by Borges, which sets up the equation blue = dream = the Orient = chaos = the unknown = anxiety, making it play against the equation the West = reason = routine = the world = the known = boredom.  A Western professor of logic at the University of Lahore makes a trip to a remote Hind­u village following reports of the sighting of blue tigers.  Instead, there he encounters ‘chaos’ in the form of a set of blue pebbles, which proliferate or reduce in number defying all reason.

The composition is in one continuous movement consisting of three parts, of which the second (and longest) itself incorporates a trio section in slower tempo.  The relation of the detail to the whole is inspired by the ornamental conception of the Dilwara temples in Rajasthan.  Figures carved out from translucent white marble totally cover their pillars, domes, arches, cloisters and ceilings, which divide into innumerable sections.  Female dancers, nymphs and musicians create endless variations of pattern and motif, replicating each other at different scales, giving the visitor the feeling of being immersed in a sensuous fractal.

tigres azules is scored for a continuo group consisting of harpsichord, piano, harp, celesta and tuned percussion, complemented by five wind and five string instruments in a texture reminiscent of a concerto grosso.

S.M.