listen to the rain
for string quartet, kamele n’goni and voices

This piece is inspired by the Taoist meditation called fusion of the 5 elements, in which the 8 forces of the bagua – and their corresponding trigrams – are called upon to spin around one’s center, where alchemical balancing and refining of the 5 dynamic agents takes place. Within the body, and in harmony with earthly and cosmic realms.The circular structure both contains and emanates these 8 forces, called by their Ancient Chinese names, forming the 8 following movements:

1 kan 坎 – water
drawing a circle 1
2 li 離– fire
drawing a circle 2
3 zhen 震 – thunder
4 dui 兌– rain (marsh, lake)
5 kun 坤 – earth
drawing a circle 3
6 gen 艮 – mountain
7 sun巽 – wind
drawing a circle 4
8 qian 乾 – sky
drawing a circle 5


Anaïs Maviel – composition, n’goni, singing bowl, voice
The Rhythm Method:
Leah Asher – violin, voice
Marina Kifferstein – violin, voice
Carrie Frey – viola, voice
Meaghan Burke – cello, voice

Tuçe Yasak – lighting

listen to the rain by Anaïs Maviel was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation.
"mountain" is the one movement for string quartet only. Please inquire for scores.