Musica da camerata

I was delighted when the Israel Camerata?s music director, Avner Biron, asked me to compose a work for his fine orchestra. I, of course, had been aware for some time of the ensemble?s fine reputation, and was completely won over by the performance I attended during their 1998 American tour. ?Musica da Camerata? is in three movements. The first, "Da?ase III", is the third (and probably the last) of the three pieces I have composed based on this same Yemenite dance form. The basic dance is used much in the manner of a ritornello, each occurrence of which is followed by a variant of the original dance rhythm. The second movement employs the traditional manner of constructing a set of variations above a motivic and harmonic ground. I depart from traditional usage by constantly altering the original material of the ground, and by having the variations appear and re-appear as sets of brief canons. The title of the third movement: "Scherzo", is more reflective of the music?s spirit than its actual form. The music is brisk and on the bright side, with perhaps a bit more acid than sugar.