Hinging structurally upon the unique tones and timbres present in the instrument, Those That I Fight I Do Not Hate is a solo composition for bodhran and electronics, originally with live video. Immediately concerned with honoring the historical roots of the instrument, the work finds inspiration in the William Butler Yeats poem “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”, from which the piece derives its title. Honoring the Irish origins of the instrument, while simultaneously pushing the sonic circumference of the bodhran in decidedly non-traditional ways, the global characteristics of Those That I Fight I Do Not Hate are far-reaching. The work is not composed within the traditional boundaries of western harmonic practice, but rather, with a global harmony in mind, drawing upon the diverse timbres of our world, removing the bodhran from its traditional function and exploring the instruments unique sounds. Anchored amongst these varied timbres, this musical language dissects the sounds of various cultures and subsequently attempts to forge, in the realm of a single composition, a global music.
Commission, program notes, and premiere performance by Ryan Nestor.
