Premiered by Loadbang on May 2, 2016 at The National Opera Center (NYC), "The Return of Takhi, the last Feral Horse" represents the sounds of the central Asian Steppe. The performance featured in this video was from June 8, 2016 by Loadbang during the 2016 China-ASEAN Music Week at the Guangxi Arts University Concert Hall, in Nanning, China.
The sounds of the Central Asian Steppe – such as those one might hear on the open plains from large mammals to small birds were analyzed through spectral analyses. In "Takhi", I use both literal and metaphorical transcriptions of nonhuman vocalizations, referencing the hunting and foraging calls of large mammals such as:
Cervus elaphus scoticus – European red deer
Cervus canadensis – elk
Cervus elaphus nelsoni – Rocky Mountain elk
Rangifer tarandus – reindeer
Canis lupus – grey wolf
Canis lupus albus – Turukhan wolf, aka Tundra wolf (grey wolf subspecies, native to Eurasia’s tundra from Finland to the Kamchatka Peninsula)
Canis lupus campestris – Steppe wolf, a subspecies of the grey wolf, native to the Caspian steppes
Also, the ancient Mongolian poem, čaγan aγulan (White Mountains), a reflection on nature and mankind, is used by all players. In "Takhi..", the text is not used as narration, but rather appears, vanishes, then reappears as the ancient soundscape evolved over time.
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