Jumelle qui joue

Description

Jumelle qui joue, from 2004, is the most sparsely written of Ravi Kumar's pieces here, sitting low on the keyboard with the treble stopping at A5. Its French title, Jumelle qui joue, combines the feminine word for one of a pair of twins with a verb meaning to play, whether in the sense of playing a game or playing an instrument, and the work does not say which is meant. As little is known about the composer, what follows describes what can be read from the score data.

No key or metre appears in the data. It lasts just over four minutes with 557 notes, a little over two notes a second on average, the lowest density among Kumar's pieces on this site. The range runs from D-sharp 1 to A5: the bass is used deeply, while the treble stops at A5, giving the whole piece a low centre of gravity.

At intermediate level and with so few notes, the length of each one and the way the sounds overlap are exposed, so place each note carefully and hold it for a consistent length. There is little need to slow the playback; rather, listen at normal speed to the space between the notes, and use the hand colours to follow the left hand as it carries the bass. The lowest note, D-sharp 1, sits below a 61-key or 76-key range as written, but an octave shift fits every note on 61 keys.

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