Rihla (2007)
for Pulse Ensemble

(2 Woodwinds, 2 Percussion, Laptop, Koto, Violin/Erhu, Cello)
​substitutes available for woodwind doubles

15 minutes


Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta was one of the most widely traveled explorers of the 14th century. This near contemporary of Marco Polo covered over 75,000 miles during his years (far more than his famous predecessor). Visiting places such as West Africa, Pakistan, India, the Maldives, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, China, Malaya, Cambodia, and Persia, Ibn Battuta was the only traveler known to have visited almost every Muslim land of his time. Several years after returning, Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his travels to Moroccan scholar, Ibn Juzay al-Kalbi. The subsequent documentation, A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling, became known as simply the Rihla. While often fictional or exaggerated in places, the Rihla gives a rich report of life in the lands of Islam during the Middle Ages. Today rihla has taken on different meanings. Not only does it refer to the actual Ibn Battuta book, but depending upon the context, it can also signify a journey (physical or spiritual) and a documentation of one’s travels.

Rihla is inspired by a trip my wife and I made to Malaysia. While we spent our first and last days in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, we spent most of our time in less urban settings, riding public buses to and from destinations around the country. On one particular day we traveled between Kuala Selangor and Lumut on at least 5 different buses! Usually the only foreigners on board, we saw evidence of kampung (village) life and spirit in the places we passed through and stopped in along the way.

Throughout our travels in Malaysia, experiences such as riding around Pankgor Island on a rented motor scooter, observing frolicking monkeys in the trees along (and sometimes in) the road, witnessing contests of Sepak Takraw (a game similar to volleyball except players can only use their feet and head instead of hands), eating local cuisine at Malay restaurants, visiting the mountainous Cameron Highland region, and watching Islamic school children boarding the bus in their colorful clothing, inspired me to want to create a sort of musical travelogue of our journey. While not trying to directly interpret our trip in any programmatic way, my attempt with Rihla was to create a musical impression of the many wonderful emotions and feelings experienced while moving from place to place within Malaysia.