Symphony #2-Reggae Reggae

As idiomatically specific as the Minuet, Waltz or Two-step, Reggae's double-time/single-time identity, where the downbeat supplants the back beat, has grabbed its place in history.Stewart Copeland's micro-time led me to the heart of Reggae. I was resistant at first. Being a "dyed-in-the-wool" Rhythm and Blues devotee, I initially thought of Reggae as middle-of-the-road R & B, a non-committal approach rather than the darkness of R & B's soul. But as I got deeper into its processes, I not only felt its lightness of being, but its limitless ability to transform anything to sit on its rhythmic obstinato. The first movement of Symphony #2-REGGAE was completed May 8, 1984. I continued working over the next three years completing the four movement work May 20, 1987.Jamaican in origin, this rock music, with its blues style, often with a political or religious message, was derived from Rastafarian beliefs, a sect devoted to Haile Selassie, former Emperor of Ethiopia, who believed himself to be a descendant of Sheba. Espousing love, peace and ganja (marijuana) Rastas wear their hair in dreadlocks, rope-like boys strands.ORCHESTRATIONPiccolo2 Flutes2 OboesEnglish Horn2 Bb ClarinetsBass Clarinet2 BassoonsContra Bassoon4 Horns in F3 Bb Trumpets2 Tenor TrombonesBass TromboneTuba(six percussionists)4 Timpani (30”, 28”, 25” 23”)SnareBassMarimbaVibraphoneXylophoneGlockenspielTubular Bell (“B”4 & “E”4)Suspended CymbalCrash CymbalTam tamBongos14-16-22 1st Violins12-14-18 2nd Violins10-12-14 Violas8-10-12 Celli6-8-10 Double BassesDuration: (49:20)