A few years ago, I posted to my website a short composition called JADE PRINCESS which I wrote for the Chinese instrument known as the "gu-zheng", and the Moog E'Pro theremin.
http://www.peterpringle.com/music/jade.mp3
I was subsequently contacted by young woman in Latvia who wanted to arrange a version of the piece for the Latvian psaltery - the "kokle" - and a ribbon control device called the "Slidesounder". I told her she had my blessing to do whatever she wanted with the piece and then I heard no more about it for a year or so.
This morning I got an email from the girl with the following link in it. Here is a YT video of four beautiful Latvian kokle-playing senoritas with their charming rendition of JADE PRINCESS accompanying the "slidesounder". It is rare indeed to hear a composition originally written for theremin that has been transcribed for some other instrument. As we all know, usually it's the other way around!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXVRxH8m8Mc
Kristiāna Balčus - Slīdskanis
Latvīte Cirse - Kokle
Līva Līcīte - Kokle
Ieva Danovska - Kokle
Dace Bleikša- Basa kokle
For those of you who are curious about the "slidesounder" (which the Latvians call the "Slīdskanis"):
https://sites.google.com/site/slidesounder/
**Just as an aside, I recorded the E'Pro version of JADE PRINCESS before Thierry Frenkel had developed his volume module for the instrument. Consequently, there is a lack of expression and some very abrupt entrances from the theremin in my original version. I was never really happy with it but I liked the timbre of the instrument so I went ahead and posted the recording anyway.
