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Composer Robert Ian Winstin will tell you himself that he is a middle-aged hippie. Naive questions such as "why can't we all just get along?" and mottos like...

Composer Robert Ian Winstin will tell you himself that he is a middle-aged hippie. Naive questions such as "why can't we all just get along?" and mottos like "live and let live" still have validity in his world. When he created Taliban Dances, he not only wrote a true virtuoso violin concerto, he composed a message. Just as the music world has reacted in the past with great fervor to events that have changed a country and a people (World War II and the Great Depression), Taliban Dances is an example of how the arts are responding to our current experience of existing as citizens in today's world.

Taliban Dances is a commentary on society, war and death in which Winstin conveys the human reaction to life, devastation, humor and complete solemnity. To portray this spectrum of emotions, Winstin uses many traditional and even religion inspired musical idioms including the Bossa Nova, lullaby, Dies Irae (Latin for "Day of Wrath"), Call for Prayer, nursery rhymes, and even the American folk tune "Dixie". The dances are inspired by Eastern and Western scales and at times are loosely based on several authentic Arabic scales and rhythmic structures. Gradually, throughout the piece, these "ethnic" ingredients are replaced by Western harmonies and rhythmic structures that by the end of the piece have culminated in a whirling concerto-style finale.

The composer speaks of the process of creating a work such as Taliban Dances:

"Writing a piece of music is at times like diving into a pool of soup; you never know where you are going to end up and by the time you figure that out, you have forgotten where you have started. For me, as a composer, this springboard leap of musical faith is a necessary beginning of the compositional process. In most of my work it hardly matters where I begin the piece, the real challenge is what I do with the materials once I have discovered them. How do I shape them? What do they mean? Did someone mention lunch?

Sometimes the answers to those questions are elusive. Not the case with my TALIBAN DANCES.

...First, the title is obviously oxymoronic. The Taliban doesn't allow dancing. That would lead to fun, perhaps even a one on one dialogue and then ... understanding. (Probably to be avoided at all costs!)

... And B, the TALIBAN DANCES are a wish for Peace. Also, a little touch of humor as well (Baghdad Bossa Nova).

The work is fairly narrative in my mind. (Of course, so is a car wash to me, but, that is another story!) The music is metaphor for understanding, cooperation, peace, absurdity and ... love. Arabic pitch and rhythmic scales are explored, most notably in the first movement, and then less so as the work progresses until the fire and brimstone final movement which is overly Western. (Well, overly Western if you can ignore the 11th Century Prayer of the Dead "Dies Irae" and the shell-shocked answer of "Dixie!")

Speaking of shell-shocked: the slide whistle's infernal "incoming!" sounds and the popping of thirty-seven "Bomb" balloons just might be my answer to the age-old question - "Can War Really Bring Peace?"

Sadly, the answer is probably not. Perhaps it is something an ageing Hippie can only dream about."

The recording also includes other pieces composed by Winstin such as Three Pieces for Piano, Piano Attacks, Le Voyage Dans La Lune (opening title music written for the re-release of the 1902 Georges Melies film of the same name) and Normandy: June 6, 1944, written for the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion which was subsequently premiered in the Rotunda at the American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.

Disc 1

Taliban Dances, "Violin Concerto" (more info)


1. I. Call to Prayer: Flower of Youth - 06:16
2. II. Lullaby: Life - 03:40
3. III. Baghdad Bossa Nova - 02:38
4. IV. Lullaby: Death - 04:07
5. V. Call to Prayer: Finale - 08:36


3 Pieces for Piano (more info)


6. No. 1. Waltz Grotesque - 01:35
7. No. 2. Doloroso Romantique - 02:03
8. No. 3. Scherzo Brisque - 01:45


Normandy: June 6, 1944 (more info)


9. Normandy: June 6, 1944 - 06:03


Piano Attacks (more info)


10. Piano Attacks - 01:33


Le voyage dans la lune (more info)


11. Le voyage dans la lune - 02:13

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