Raga III

This work is part of the RAGA cycle, a series of works based on Indian raga. RAGA III was composed in 1995, commissioned by deFilharmonie (Antwerp Symphony Orchestra). In 2012, Wim Henderickx made some adjustments to this work to achieve a better balance. A version for viola and electronics was also released in 2010 and in 2016 a version for viola d'amore and electronics. RAGA III is based on a raga with the central notes C, D flat and G. In the slow first movement, which is bathed in an atmosphere of melancholy and spirituality, with the suggestive terms “half awake - sad but spiritual”, the viola presents the basic material while the orchestra reflects the harmonic field of the work as a kind of “tampura” accompaniment. In the second and fast movement, subtitled “waving - lively with inner joy”, a build-up to a grand climax (cadence) is interrupted by ethereal intermezzos, in which the viola enters into dialogue with various solo orchestral instruments. The slow coda, subtitled “an evening prayer”, allows the work to end in a soothing, almost unreal conclusion.