L Subramaniam: Journey — Performance Notes
Performance notes
Journey was performed by Yehudi Menuhin and Lakshminarayana Subramaniam in 1987 at the United Nations, in celebration of the 40th year of Indian independence. The piece is based on a pentatonic scale called Mohanam. With D as the tonic, the notes are D, E, F#, A, B. The scale can be transposed to any tonic, but as long as the relative intervals are the same, it is still Mohanam.
The first slow ad lib section is written to be similar to Alapana (raga improvisation) in Indian classical music. It is followed by the main theme in bars 22–53. Bars 54–63 are a piano solo bridge leading to the second part of the composition. In bars 98–112, the second half of the theme is repeated up an octave with a harmony line on the piano. In bars 113–200, a ‘trade-off’ between violin and piano ensues: another feature of Indian classical music. The length of each call and response gets shorter and shorter, leading to a rhythmic coda and a recapitulation of the theme in bar 241.
Performance notes by L Subramaniam
