With all the examples of interesting rhythms that we discussed and to which we listened in class today, I could not help but think of this symphonic band composition which I played in high school. Honestly I am so captivated by listening to the song that I have trouble putting my head into analytical mode to try to determine the meter; the best I can remember from high school is that I think it's 7/8 sometimes but interspersed with measures or sections in other meters. (I struggled to find any kind of image of just a single page of the score or one instrument's part to this song, but I neither had a scanned page on my computer nor could find anything online.) To me it all fits together seamlessly, though, and I think therein the piece accomplishes the ultimate goal. Even if, as a listener, you don't always know how to count along with what you're hearing, the beats and ebb and flow are powerful enough that you can move to it rather easily and intrinsically. To wax poetic for a second: you just have to remove your mind from the pathway and let the music go straight to your body. (In other words, don't think.)
For background on the inspiration behind this song, see Sam Hazo's story about it. I love that it has both a totally physical experience as well as an overarching symbolic meaning attached to it.
