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'Thai' is a central piece in 'Badminton Opera', composed by me in 2005 to the texts and visualisation by Teemu Mäki and Juha-Pekka Hotinen. 'Badminton Opera' was premiered in the Kiasma Theatre in 2005, total duration of the opera is ca 90 min (of which music ca. 75 min). Originally 'Thai' was composed for alto and piano. I have arranged 'Thai' for soprano and chamber ensemble of five players (flute, bass clarinet, violin, viola and violoncello), to be premiered in the Carte Blanche Max Savikangas concert series in the Netherlands, presented by Ensemble88 in November-Deceber 2007.The main theme of 'Badminton Opera' - and hence the main theme of 'Thai' - is violence, which has numerous forms, some obvious and explicit, some structural, hard to recognize and difficult to measure. In 'Thai', I'm not so much dealing with the obvious forms of violence, for example abuse, war and slavery. Instead, I'm focusing on the violence that is hiding in the structures of economy and culture, and in our common patterns of thought and mechanisms of emotion. This structural, often invisible violence is seen in the text by Juha-Pekka Hotinen as the widest-spread and the most influential branch of violence. The explicit bursts of violence are considered merely as by-products of it.One perspective into violence in 'Thai' is political. According to the text by Hotinen the main form of violence is the exploitation that is built into the structure of capitalist economy. This means that violence is first and foremost an utility tool – a means of gaining calculable profit.Another perspective into violence in the text of 'Thai' is psychological, even downright psychoanalytical, according to which violence is first and foremost a form of sex drive or its sublimation. For the aggressor – and occasionally for the victim, too – violence can be a end in itself, pleasurable as such.Thai asks: How do these various forms of and motivations for violence connect? 'Thai' is meant to be both deadly serious and hilarious. In spite of It's possibly outrageous-sounding themes the work tries to be an anti-spectacle: it has no shock-effects, it is neither a thriller nor an Aristotelian drama. It is ment to have the feel of a poetic essay.© Max Savikangas 2007, Teemu Mäki and Juha-Pekka Hotinen 2005

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Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin

Thaimaalainen