Dried Bats
The Caprice en forme d'arabesques ("Caprice in the Form of Arabesques") was composed in Morocco while Dillon Ford was on the faculty of the American School of Tangier (1982-83). This six-movement suite tells no specific story. Each movement, rather, represents some impression of a particular person, place, or thing encountered either in everyday reality or in the realm of imagination.
Dried bats are an essential ingredient for special, some would even say magical formulas, and could be obtained at the always lively Djemaa el Fna in Marrakesh. This intensely ecstatic piece demands a light staccato touch and great speed and dexterity for its peculiar brand of sorcery to succeed.