composed/performed by Jeremy Muller video by Dave Thibodeau

For more info please visit: http://jeremymuller.com/ Ensemble version: http://www.bachovich.com/music/0961 Solo version: http://www.bachovich.com/music/0983

In Music for Botany, the time modulation moves from five to four to three. Although the same process occurs with rhythmic compression and intensive activity, the important element is the shift from merengue to joropo; or from the Brazilian caxixí to the Venezuelan maracas. The merengue pattern played by the maracas is soon covered up by the 3+2+1+2 accent pattern heard in the caxixí. This tends to negate the maraca part giving the emphasis to the caxixí and a non-Venezuelan musical style. Throughout the course of the piece, the instruments gravitate towards rhythmic patterns that exist in a joropo.

The ambiguity of two or three (6/8, 3/4) is strong in joropo and one of the fascinating elements of the melody. Because of this phenomenon, it gently lends itself to aural ambiguities when listening to minimalism, especially in the vein of Steve Reich, and particularly, Music for Pieces of Wood. This is essentially what happens during the resultant patterns of the three-eight sections from Music for Botany. The phenomenon is approached from different perspectives – different customs – and the boundary that once was thought to exist, now becomes only a matter of point of view and interpretation.