Levitation Practice for the Sublimation of Time in the Modal System of the Maroon Glacial Cirque
A two-hour immersive ensemble work unfolding through slow-form structure, just intonation, and collective attention.
First Presentation:
November 3, 2020, Studio Ma, Seattle, United States
Credits:
- Composed by Joey Largent
- Performed by Dhikr Allah Ensemble
- Joey Largent — amplified voice, tambura, shruti box
- Katrina Wolfe — movement, branch installation
- Michael Shannon — erhu, voice
- Noel Kennon — viola, voice
- Danielle Quenelle — shruti box
- Taehyung Kim — 7-limit just intoned shruti box
- Russell Christenson — harmonium
- Jocelyn Beausire - amplified voice (for rehearsals, and in spirit)
Levitation Practice for the Sublimation of Time in the Modal System of the Maroon Glacial Cirque was a two-hour ensemble work from an ongoing series of long-form compositions exploring duration, slow harmonic change, and collective listening.
The piece unfolds through a flexible large-scale structure adapted from Raga Miyan ki Malhar, traditionally associated with monsoon, storms, and renewal. Rather than presenting fixed material, the score establishes a shared tonal environment in which individual improvisations arise gradually and dissolve back into the ensemble. Time is treated as a field rather than a trajectory, allowing attention to drift without urgency.
The audience was placed at the center of the room and surrounded by musicians, immersed within a slowly shifting sound environment. The work was performed beneath Katrina Wolfe’s hanging installation of purple smoke and vine maple branches, transforming the performance space into a contained and devotional environment. Due to COVID restrictions, attendance was limited to seven people, creating an unusually intimate configuration in which listeners were outnumbered by performers.
This performance was presented in honor of Pandit Pran Nath (1918–1996) on the occasion of what would have been his 102nd birthday. The work continues Largent’s long-term investigation into just intonation, embodied listening, and music as an offering shaped by time, breath, and attention.
