Music and Magic

André Jolivet was a passionate, individualistic, and internationally celebrated composer whose music has long been celebrated in the flute community. He used his compositions to express his belief in the magical and spiritual connection between man and the universe. This belief was instilled in him early, inspired by his constant exposure to non-Western cultures. In his Suite en Concert for flute and percussion, Jolivet does not rely on a particular compositional technique; rather he integrates the numerous primitive and spiritual influences in his life. Using atonality, repetition, corporeal, and spiritual rhythm, he also incorporated sounds he heard during his travels to Africa and Asia including grace notes, flutter tonguing in the flute part, and a variety of percussion instruments. Although the majority of this work focuses on Jolivet and his Suite, other composers shared his passion for the importance of spirituality in music, most notably, the Finnish composer Tauno Marttinen. Marttinens Alfa for flute and seven cymbals shares with Jolivet the use of music to connect with the spiritual while adhering to no single compositional technique.