Searle: Snake Kings
Expected to ship in 2-3 weeks.
Shipping Policy- Composer: Oliver Iredale Searle
- Instrumentation: Piano Trio (Piano, Violin, Cello), Bass Clarinet, Bass Flute
- Work: Snake Kings (2024)
Description
The ancient city of Holmul lies in the middle of the jungle in northern Guatemala, near the Mexican border. The site was a thriving settlement during the classic Maya period (CE 250-900), throughout what is today Central America and Mexico. During this time, two city-states were locked in conflict and political upheaval. for a brief time, one of these city-states – Holmul, once with a population of ca.60,000 – became the closest thing to an empire in Mayan history, ruled by the Snake Kings of the Kaanul dynasty (so called because of their distinctive, snake-adorned carvings); until the turn of the 21st Century, nobody knew they had ever existed. At the time of writing, nobody knows where the Snake Kings originally came from, but they recognised the vulnerability of the neighbouring city of Tikal, and one of them – named Sky Witness – manipulated the local populace by offering gifts, paying respects and building allies, before moving in to conquer the city.
This piece explores the links to individuals in global, modern politics, who set communities and societies against each other with divisive rhetoric, for their own personal gain.
Musically, the piece takes a short, Scottish Air melody (written by me), and transforms it over the course of the work, through a variety of traditional techniques, such as the inclusion of a jig, changes between melodies/styles, and heterophony (often found in Gaelic Psalm singing, from the islands of the Outer Hebrides).
The bass flute in particular tries to be heard, but is often defeated; drowned out above the collective melodic lines of others; lost in the dense layers of activity and the maelstrom of noise.
‘This is the blood offering of Sky Witness' (inscription from a bone needle, used for blood rituals, from the 6th Century CE)
Inspiration taken from the article: Lost Empire of the Maya, written by Erik Vance; National Geographic Magazine; September 2016
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Searle: Snake Kings
