Balã Galõ, a song for an evening at the river

2026, op. 113

Text and melody of the vocal part by Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941)
Melody of the vocal part transcribed by Barry Phillips (2026)

Instrumentation: Voice, mandoline and string quartet
Duration: ca. 10 min.
Commissioned by the Duisburger Philharmoniker

World premiere on May 22, 2026, Philharmonie Mercatorhalle Duisburg, Germany
Kamalini Mukherji, voice
Avi Avital, mandoline
Aris Quartet
Anna Katharina Wildermuth; Noémi Zipperling, violins
Caspar Vinzens, viola
Lukas Sieber, violoncello

Publisher: The sheet music is available directly from the composer

Composers Note

The composition Balã Galõ, a song for an evening at the river was written at the
suggestion of the Indian singer Kamalini Mukherji and Nils Szczepanski, Artistic
Director of the Duisburg Philharmonic, for a performance as part of the EingZeit
Festival in Duisburg in May 2026.

The combination of musical elements from traditional Indian music with mandolin and
string quartet was a particularly special and inspiring task for me. The melody of

Rabindranath Tagore’s vocal part was not available in Western musical notation. Barry Phillips transcribed it for me, providing the basis on which I could create a new
composition.

The piece begins with a kind of overture for string quartet and mandolin. The voice
then enters, singing the first stanza. The instruments accompany it with delicate
timbres and parallel, atmospheric melodic lines. An instrumental interlude follows,
before the voice returns with the second stanza. A second instrumental interlude
finally brings all the voices and instruments together, allowing the piece to fade into a shared soundscape.

The text describes an observer standing on the bank of a river, experiencing this
moment in a light yet deeply contemplative state of mind. This image inspired me and
became my dramaturgical starting point for making this particular atmosphere audible
through music.