Alex Pauk
Echo Spirit Isle, 1983
Commissioned by: with the assistance of the Canada Council
Premiered by: Québec Symphony Orchesra, Simon Streatfeild, conductor, March 5, 1985

“There are two events which stimulated and then influenced the writing of Echo Spirit Isle… an in-depth study of Javanese gamelan music and… Lyall Watson’s wonderful book Gifts of Unknown Things, dealing with supernatural and exotic phenomena on an imaginary, isolated island in the Indonesian archipelago.
“The musical materials of the present work are based entirely on the ‘pelog’ and ‘slendro’ scales which form the basis of Javanese music. Furthermore, the device of rhythmically repeated groups of notes is carried over from the gamelan. However, the piece is not intended as an imitation of the gamelan, but rather, is designed to transform the essential qualities of that music into an orchestral experience with its own unique frame of reference.”

Alex Pauk
Cosmos, 1989
Commissioned by: Québec Symphony Orchestra
Premiered by: Québec Symphony Orchestra, 1989
“The introduction of Cosmos is built around an extended horn solo which in this case represents the solitary world trying to perceive and comprehend universal forces both near and far. Gradually the horn blends… into varied layers of lattices and massive blocks appear in the musical structure and represent the radiation and energy of galaxies colliding, merging, flaring or vanishing. […]
“Throughout the piece gongs and other ringing percussion instruments have been featured to create a sense of the ‘great chiming of the universe’ which others have called the ‘music of the spheres.’”