Music Practice Commons^™

Saffron Paths: A Suite Of Asian Pieces, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

Flute Violin Cello Harp (optional piano)

Saffron Paths traces an imaginary musical journey though the Near East and Asia with stops in Persia, India, China, Korea and Japan, blending elements of Western and Eastern musical usage. It is designed as a suite that, in addition to a complete performance, individual movements can be performed separately.

Shiraz, inspired by a poem of Hafez (1325-1388), features a heterophonic melody and additive rhythms used in Arabic and Islamic music.

Bengali Night incorporates some aspects of classical Hindustani music including the tambura drone and Raga suggested by the Lydian mode.

Chinoserie (European imitation of …

Lives In Musicology: My Life In Writings, Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

Responding to an invitation from the editors of Acta Musicologica to tell the story of his life in musicology, Kofi Agawu describes his upbringing and early education in Ghana and his university studies in the UK and the US. In a career focused on teaching, research, and writing, he outlines a number of intellectual projects involving the analysis of African and European music. He ends by acknowledging renewed discussions of race and identity in the musical academy today, and hints at his own growing interest in African art music.