For this improvisation I chose the title The Morrígan’s Loom, because its very fast polyrhythms and dark modal colours with glimmers of light felt a bit like The Morrígan (The Irish goddess of fate) weaving the threads of past and future into a dark and complex tapestry. In Irish mythology, The Morrígan is a multifaceted deity associated with fate, death, war, sovereignty, and motherhood/fertility. This seeming contradiction between her different aspects reflects the natural cycles of life and death, and how they are two sides of the same coin. In the mythology she is often represented as a triple goddess. This ambiguity and multifaceted nature was represented by the three ambiguous sounding modes that I used, as well as the interweaving of cross-rhythms between the hands, which sometimes came together in synchrony.
I started with a brief, slow and pensive introduction in G Dorian sharp 4, which is a mode that has darkness and disquiet, with moments of light — which made me think of The Morrígan’s prophesies and influences over the fates of people facing adversities.
Next I moved onto a very fast tempo section, still within G Dorian sharp 4. The darkness of the mode combined with the turbulence and energy of the high speed echoed the idea of The Morrígan’s power and destructive nature, as well as creation. The texture here was made up of broken chords and arpeggios, with the main melody voiced through the top notes, and with frequent polyrhythms between the hands: sometimes 3s in the right hand against 2s in the left, sometimes 4s in the right hand against 3s in the left. Each hand had its own time and rhythm, but synchronised on each downbeat, and the start of most beats. This felt like two parallel time-shifted realities — like two possible futures seen by Morrígan, or the weaving together of past and future.
Whilst still playing this texture and tempo I shifted to G Dorian flat 2. This mode has darkness in its flat 2, and brightness in its major 6th; again reflecting the ambiguity of the multifaceted deity and the ideas of life vs death, destruction vs creation.
Then I moved to B flat Lydian Dominant within a much slower tempo and slightly different texture, with more synchronised rhythm between the hands (i.e. the subdivisions of the beats were the same as opposed to polyrhythms where the beats can be subdivided by different amounts). The Lydian Dominant mode has an otherworldly and luminous feel due to its Lydian sharpened 4th degree, but its flattened 7th gives it a dark edge. Like brightness and optimism, combined with fear and uncertainty.
Next I modulated back to G Dorian flat 2 and then G Dorian sharp 4, with a return to the earlier very fast texture.
I closed the piece with a slow and pensive coda in G Dorian sharp 4.
Modes Used – Note Names & Parent Scales
| Mode | Notes | Parent Scale | Mode Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| G Dorian ♯4 | G – A – B♭ – C♯ – D – E – F | D harmonic minor | 4th mode of harmonic minor |
| G Dorian ♭2 | G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E – F | F melodic minor (ascending) | 2nd mode of melodic minor |
| B♭ Lydian Dominant | B♭ – C – D – E – F – G – A♭ | F melodic minor (ascending) | 4th mode of melodic minor |
Interval Formulas
G Dorian ♯4
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
G Dorian ♭2
1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
B♭ Lydian Dominant
1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
Further reading and listening
Learn more about modes: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
