Domus Quintett - news for woodwinds
Various composers were commissioned to create works for Domus Quintett's CD "news for woodwinds". Isak Roux contributed the work "Four African Scenes". Two of the four movements found their way into the mp3.com Top 40 World Music Category for many weeks in 1999.
This suite comprises four musical impressions of South African places.In each movement specific compositional and structural processes found in African music are utilised. In three of the sections rhythm builds the driving force.
The movements:
Desert Dance is a ritual dance built on pentatonic motivic cells within a rhythmic-cyclical structure.
Wind Song. The short introductory section is reminiscent of an old harmonium found in a farm house. Thereafter the listener is escorted into the undulating hills so typical for Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Dusk At Loteni. On the hill above this beautiful valley stands an old mission station. Here one also finds the old thatched cottage and last resting place of a friend. The simple melody is in itself a "Song without Words".
Market Place Conversations is a playful representation of the loud conversations taking place on a typical African marketplace.Each of the five instruments assumes the roles of various characters involved in conversation. The odd monologue is not neglected, although it all but disappears in the general humdrum.
news for woodwinds
first released 1999
