string orchestra
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
Toke in Serbian means the metal plaques or pieces of money sewn on a folk costume.
Toke is inspired by traditional Balkan music. It consists of three parts: The first is inspired by vocal music, the second, by Gypsy string music and the third by dance music, with a short coda.
The last one is inspired by a particular dance music called the _Deaf Round, where the dancers create a circle without any instrument or singing. This silent dance originates from the fear of being heard by enemies or ghosts. All we hear is their rhythmical steps accompanied by a special metal plaque (toke) the sound of which comes out from the women’s dresses.
The heart of the material is a cluster as a dominant part of Balkan music. It makes and is accompanied by a melody, harmony, and mode. Also I tried to show the different musical approaches with extreme sensations: from a very rude and dense atmosphere to a tiny and tender one, typical to that region.