The Samsara Suites
The Samsara Suites is an experimental piece of classical music composed by Caeser Pink from December 2019 to February 2020. The instrumentation consists of a string quartet, 3 percussionist, an analog Moog synthesizer, and digital sampling keyboard. The Suites were inspired by the works of John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Terry Riley, Steve Riech, Yoko Ono, and Else Marie Pade.
The title "The Samsara Suites" refers to a Hindu concept of attachment/detachment to the cares and concerns of the material world.
The six movements are titled:
Movement I - Tao Tones
Movement II - A Rising Awareness
Movement III - Clouds Over Industry
Movement IV - Kali Yuga (Souls Fade Away)
Movement V - The Flood Allows Reflection
Movement VI - Liberation
Movement I - Tao Tones is an instrumental translation of a poem written by Pink in 1986. The piece has a ritualisic, chant-like feel to it.
Movement II - A Rising Awareness draws musical concepts from jazz artist Ornette Coleman's theory of Harmolodics. More particularly the results of some of his experiments that created multiple layers of conflicting emotions. In movement II, this takes the form of a quiet, but chaotic rhythm bed that underlies wistful melodies, creating a growing sense of unease.
Movement III - Clouds Over Industry features swells of chord variations played by the string section, reminiscent of some of Brian Eno's ambient works. The calming effect of the string swells is undercut by a sparse cello pulse that repeats mechanically throughout the piece. Radio static, as a percussionist scrolls through the dial of a portable radio, provides an otherworldly ambience. The other two percussionists begin playing sparse, mechanical sounding bursts, on a percussion setup created from found objects specifically for the piece.
As the movement progresses, the percussion begins to overpower the piece, creating a growing cacophony, culminating in the sounds of hammers, drills, and saws. The movement is also punctuated by rhythmic variations of a sample of astronaut John Glenn's famous words, "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind".section, reminiscent of some of Brian Eno's ambient works. The calming effect of the string swells is undercut by a sparse cello pulse that repeats mechanically throughout the piece. Radio static, as a percussionist scrolls through the dial of a portable radio, provides an otherworldly ambience. The other two percussionists begin playing sparse, mechanical sounding bursts, on a percussion setup created from found objects specifically for the piece.
As the movement progresses, the percussion begins to overpower the piece, creating a growing cacophony, culminating in the sounds of hammers, drills, and saws. The movement is also punctuated by rhythmic variations of a sample of astronaut John Glenn's famous words, "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind".
Movement IV - Kali Yuga, owes inspiration to jazz bassist Jamalaadeen Tacuma. The most frenzied of the four movement, desperately mournful melodies float over an electronica drum pattern played on an electronic percussion pad. The percussion oscillates between one measure of strict pattern and one measure of improvised variations. The violin plays harrowing solos in a style owning debt to rock/jazz violinist David Cross of King Crimson fame.Movement V - The Flood Allows Reflections, is a transcription for strings, of piano improvisations played over a recording of a thunderstorm. The movement is held together by an fluid African drum rhythm that is meant to simulate the sounds of rain dripping in an uneven pattern from a broken rain spout.
Movement VI draws from the melodies and harmonies of South African music. The percussion section plays heavy tom tom rhythms inspired by percussionist Martin Atkins' work on the experimental Public Image Limited, Flowers Of Romance recordings.
In November of 2021 The Samsara Suites was performed live as part of a multimedia performance that included a ballet dancer, a butoh dancer, and interactive video projections.
