Dance Suite in G

DANCE SUITE IN G, for amplified violin, drum kit, and electronics, consists of five short movements that each explore one electronic dance music genre (I. Dubstep, II. IDM, III. Ambient, IV. Acid House, V. Drum ‘n’ Bass). My music is equally indebted to J.S. Bach and James Blake, and this piece is an attempt at fusing those two worlds. The title was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but after learning more about the role of French Baroque dances in 18th Century Germany, I am now convinced that these electronic dance music styles really are the modern day equivalent. There are a few areas where the analogy fails—unlike Louis XIV dancing a minuet, I see no modern-day world leaders dancing to dubstep—but nonetheless, this seems to be our contemporary dance tradition. Paying homage to Bach’s suites and partitas, each dance is taken as a starting point for creating a piece of concert music – something to stimulate the mind and ears, not the body alone.

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