I. Mouvement "Le Chant du coeur"
II. Mouvement "Marche Rituelle sous pluie et tempete"

Part 1 of 2 "The “Concerto for Strings”, opus 48, is performed by Oganes Girunyan, violin, Nataliya Girunyan, violin, Sergey Obukhov, viola, Stanislav Ovchinnikov, cello and Vladimir Dranitza, contrabass.

Commentary on Movements I & II Hidayat Inayat-Khan

...The “Concerto for Strings” (opus 48), composed in 1972, reveals a further attempt to merge the two musical cultures, east and west, in one composition, without being too strictly conventional regarding the theoretical structures of either culture. This composition is mainly inspired by the melodic code “La Monotonia”, also heard in the Suite Symphonique. It is structured in four movements, each illustrating a specific picture.

The first movement is an instrumental challenge presenting tremendous technical problems to all instruments involved, owing to the very great diversity of dynamics and the complexity of the thematic elements woven into a stream of notes which secretly build up a hidden harmonic structure, based on classical principles, yet evoking exotic atmospheres. The framework of this movement is conceived in the traditional style of what is know as Sonata form, with an exposition section, a development section and a re-exposition section ending with a Coda.
The second movement is a short Scherzo, illustrating a procession starting off in strictest discipline but as the music unfolds, it becomes more and more expressing, ending on a fortissimo aspect as the procession reaches its destiny, which is described in the final dramatic sequences, and which lead one right up to the doorstep of the ‘Prayer House’ where the third movement actually takes place.