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Programme Note

Although Mandala is an early piece of mine, it embraces many of the ideas that still fascinate me as a composer today. This can be found, for example, in the ebb and flow of energy throughout the piece. By juxtaposing the precision of mathematics with the freedom of guided improvisation, the piece moves with its own internal logic, through differing and contrasting energy levels.

A Mandala is a symmetric geometric picture used in Buddhism and Hinduism as a means for meditation, most often a square design around a centre. The five sections of this piece constitute a journey through a mandala in which the long silence (the focal point of the piece) in the third section represents the centre of the figure. The piece is symmetrical in shape, but the music is changed by travelling through the quiet middle point.

Rolf Wallin