Dawn of the Second Day
for flute (doubling alto flute), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), violin, and violoncello. c. 7 minutes.
Dedicated to Hub New Music. Commissioned by the Philadelphia Student Composers Project. Sponsored by the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation.
Program Note
This piece is a single sonata-form movement. Despite the clear sense of tonic, the sonata is not in G Major. To add a different color to the music, as well as to inject the music with the musical language of my Indian heritage, the piece uses two modes derived from Hindustāni Classical music, the music of North India: Rāga Bhairav, and Rāga Yaman. Bhairav can be described as a major scale with altered notes: a flat 2 and flat 6, while Yaman is the Lydian mode, a major scale with a sharp 4. The most prominent note in Bhairav is the flat 6, while the most prominent note in Yaman is the natural 3. These notes serve as rest points.
The piece begins with a slow introduction that serves to introduce the mode and the notes of the rāga, evoking the improvisatory ālāpa that starts a performance of Hindustāni classical music. In the piece, Bhairav is the rāga for the main section of the opening and is also the rāga in which the piece ends. In the middle sections, the music transitions to rāga Yaman, or the Lydian mode (the major scale with a sharp fourth), which is used freely with rāga Bhairav. The rāgas are juxtaposed and can be heard simultaneously in different sections of the piece.
The title “Dawn of the Second Day” stems from the time theory that exists in Hindustāni classical music, which dictates at what time of day a particular rāga should be performed. Although Yaman, which is used prominently, is an evening rāga, the majority of the piece uses Bhairav, which is to be performed in the early morning (c. 6:00–9:00 A.M.). Bhairav is a serious rāga and gives a sense of gravitas to the music. This serious nature is contrasted by the fast tempo and interplay between the instruments, and the occasional foray into the calmer tone of Yaman. The overall form can be felt a journey from morning to evening before awakening to the next morning.
