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Kaleidoscope of Rainbows - introduction (taken from the original album
liner notes) by Neil Ardley
Kaleidoscope of Rainbows completes a trilogy begun with ‘The Greek
Variations’ and continued with ‘A Symphony of Amaranths’. Like these
earlier works, it is concerned with integrating the warmth and
individual feeling of improvised music with the formal beauty of
composition to the benefit of both.
To this
end, both approaches depart from the same starting point - the simple
five-note scale of Balinese music. Throughout the whole work, all the
music - whether improvised or composed - derives ultimately from this
scale, which is known as the pelog scale, and consists of the notes C
sharp, D, E, G sharp and A.
This
scale fascinated me and I toyed endlessly with it, wringing out melodies
and rhythmic fragments as the work took shape. It occurred to me that
constantly reworking a few notes to form many different patterns of
sound was like whirling a kaleidoscope to shift fragments of colour into
ever-new visual patterns; hence my title, which I like mainly for its
ring. Trevor Tomkins’ title, Bali Boogaloo, is perhaps more descriptive.
The
music opens with the Prologue, as a cascade sounds from the synthesisers
and the musicians enter one by one, playing their way through a series
of Balinese fragments, all in different metres. This technique, with its
whirl of metric ambiguity overlying a propulsive beat, produces a
kaleidoscope of rhythm that delights me - it is used several times in
the work. The fragments all consist of only pelog notes, as do the
themes of Rainbow One and the slow melody of Rainbow Two.
The
tune of Rainbow Four employs the same five notes plus one extra (F
sharp). In each case, the themes give rise to scales and harmonies that
in turn serve as a basis for improvisation. Rainbow Three is virtually
totally improvised, departing from a simple chugging cello figure using
four of the five pelog notes.
Rainbows Five and Six are more complex in structure, using the six notes
of Rainbow Four and then six others to form twelve-note groups, such as
the riff in Rainbow Five and the trills that open and close Rainbow Six,
as well as its gentle tune.
Linking
them and the other Rainbows, is a short pelog phrase. Rainbow Seven is
different again, and here the five pelog notes sound together to form a
chord (from the bass: D, A, C, sharp, E, G sharp).
This chord has polytonal implications and so the piece develops with a
harmonic tug as two or more keys clash. After the tumultuous climax, the
music quietens and the Epilogue commences; back comes the opening bass
figure, over which the tunes reappear. The Balinese scale then rises
phoenix-like to a final climax.
Although this framework marks the overall shape of ‘Kaleidoscope of
Rainbows’ and gives an idea of how it came to be composed, it remains
only part of the music. The emotional intensity and ingenuity that the
musicians bring to it, both in the way the composed music is played as
well as the improvised music is created, are just as important to the
work as my foundations.
The Tracks
1. Prologue/Rainbow One (soloist Ian Carr and Brian Smith) 10.26
2. Rainbow Two (soloist Dave Macrae and Geoff Castle) 7.34
3. Rainbow Three (soloist Paul Buckmaster) 3.28
4. Rainbow Four (soloist Barbara Thompson) 6.15
5. Rainbow Five (soloist Tony Coe) 4.25
6. Rainbow Six (soloists Ken Shaw and Bob Bertles) 7.39
7. Rainbow Seven/Epilogue 14.56
The
Players
Neil Ardley: director, synthesiser Bob Bertles: alto, soprano, flute
Paul Buckmaster: acoustic, electric cello Ian Carr: trumpet, flugelhorn
Geoff Castle: electric piano, synthesiser Tony Coe: tenor, clarinet,
bass clarinet Dave Macrae: electric piano, synthesiser Roger Sellers:
drums Ken Shaw: guitar Brian Smith: tenor, soprano, flute, alto flute
Roger Sutton: bass guitar, electric bass Barbara Thompson: alto,
soprano, flute Trevor Tomkins: percussion, vibraphone
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