Samsara literally means “continuous flow” and represents the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth embraced by Indian religions. This understanding of nature’s cyclical patterns is reflected in Indian classical music by the recurring rhythmic pattern of beats called the tala (literally “a clap”). The continuous repetition of the chosen tala forms the rhythmical bedrock of any given composition.

The inspiration for the newly commissioned Samsara for violin, marimba and orchestra by the Swedish composer Tobias Broström, comes from this Indian notion of cyclical rhythms. Large parts of the work are based on the rhythms of what is called Konnakol, the art of performing percussion syllables vocally in South Indian music. Originally Konnakol was an onomatopoetic method for learning the rhythms of certain types of drumming. Now it is appreciated all over the world as an art form in itself. Particularly exemplary of the use of Konnakol in the double concerto is a section where the violin and marimba compete in a canon based on the following repeating rhythm:

Besides the overarching and virtuosic rhythmical conception that permeates the work, Samsara relies heavily on another technique prominent in Indian music and various forms of Western music: the use of drones. The concerto opens with a sustained pedal in the double basses, not on the traditional fifth ubiquitous in Western music but on its inversion, the fourth. This tonal ambiguity at the outset sets the tenor for the unending “search” for the true tonal centre of the work, if one indeed even exists. The continual return to centers on D, G, C, C#, F# and finally F creates a similar sense of “return” and “departure” as that found in the rhythmical cycles, only this time the cycle entails an evolving spirit as one passes from one life to the next.