Kembang Suling 

Gareth Farr is a composer and percussionist based in New Zealand, where he frequently collaborates with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orpheus Choir Wellington, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Farr’s early exposure to the characteristic rhythms and textures of Indonesian gamelan have profoundly influenced his compositional style. Kembang Suling was written in 1996 while Farr was pursuing his doctorate at the Eastman School of Music, where he simultaneously debuted his on stage alter-ego, drag queen and percussionist Lilith LaCroix. He describes Kembang Suling as “three musical snapshots of Asia”. The first movement refers to music of the island of Bali, with the flute and marimba eliciting the rhythms and style of gamelan music. While Farr was inspired by the sounds of the Balinese bamboo flute, the suling, for the first movement, he was inspired by the Japanese shakuhachi flute for the plaintive and improvisatory mood of the second movement. The playful third movement utilizes South Indian scales and establishes a 3-measure pattern in the marimba, with the flute playing competitive cross rhythms throughout.