Hex – Julian Grant

Composer: Julian Grant Instrumentation: alto flute in G (doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling cor anglais), clarinet in Bb (doubling bass clarinet in Bb), bassoon, horn in F, harp, violin 1, violin 2, viola, violoncello, contrabass Duration: Approx. 11 minutes Date Written: 1997 Additional information: The catalyst for this piece came from an unlikely source: a Central Asian rock concert. I had been lured there, like a virgin, intrigued by the promise of hearing 'The Madonna of Uzbekistan" . As it happened, she was eclipsed by another act on the bill, a group from Yakutsk, in Siberia. Their lead singer was a shaman, who apparently revived old songs and spells that had been largely stamped out by the Soviet regime. Her vocal style was intriguing, a declamatory and obsessive meandering on a few cracked notes, coloured by the local technique of "Kalykhan" , a sort of fluttery yodel. But it was her presence that was mesmerizing. She was large, with waist length raven tresses, and her imprecat