Mahan Esfahani: Harpsichord Solo Set

George Lewis Timelike Weave (UK Premiere)
Anahita Abbasi Intertwined Distances
Miroslav Srnka Triggering

Put aside any assumptions about what a harpsichord sounds like. All 3 pieces were written for the virtuosic Mahan Esfahani. Timelike Weave is inspired by the logic of Afrodiasporic quilting aesthetics and the notion of the closed timelike curve in quantum physics resulting in an electronic sound that is part Milton Babbitt, part McCoy Tyner and part Evan Parker. The electronic element of Anahita Abbasi’s Intertwined Distances came out of a close collaboration between Esfahani and the composer. Complemented by Miroslav Srnka’s humorous Triggering, the composer sets out to discover all of the in-between sounds of the harpsichord, breakdown our presumptions of what a harpsichord sounds like.