Description

Mali-malist is an exciting and vibrant work that is a unique addition to the cello quartet repertoire. It has energy and spirit, with few technical …challenges for the intermediate-advanced quartet. Originally for double bass quartet, it transcribes beautifully for cello ensemble, quartet or larger forces. “Mali-Malist is a word game mixing Mali and minimalist. I wrote this piece for a “Festival au Desert, Presenza dAfrica” in 2012 where I played with the women singers group Tartit from Mali. A civil war had broken out in Mali and with this piece, I wanted to pay tribute to the Malian people. I wrote it as a kind of war documentary, like the background music for a TV news program. The feel of the music is minimalism and chill-out, but with a reflective message. The slow glissandos for cello 3 (bars 41-48) describe the sound of the war siren. The traditional music of Mali is repetitive music, and over this idea, I wrote a piece with a minimalist feel. I used other elements of Mali´s music such as a monotone and rhythmic bass line. It´s a high-energy piece where I try to make the audience feel what Mali´s people feel when the war siren starts to sound.” [Simón García]