A continuous contemporary-classical tone poem
- Composed by Tristan Robert Lange
- Peformed by Appalachian Virtual Ensemble
- Released September 4, 2026
The Shaman is a single, uninterrupted composition built as a psychological and spiritual passage. The listener crosses a threshold, descends into a loosening world, confronts something hidden, and returns altered—but not resolved.
The work begins as though it were already underway. Without a fixed tonal center or clearly divided movements, fragments emerge and transform while pulse gives way to drift, stability dissolves into fluidity, and observation becomes immersion. The music eventually gathers into ritual intensity before returning to a changed form of motion. Nothing has been repaired. Something has nevertheless been understood.
At the center of the work is a simple conviction: healing is not the same as resolution. Healing may begin through confrontation, understanding, and the difficult decision to continue forward bearing what has been revealed.
The shaman appears here not as an imitation of any particular culture, religion, or sacred tradition, but as a universal archetype: the one who enters the places others avoid, confronts hidden reality, and returns bearing truth capable of beginning the work of healing.
Instrumentation
Flute, bass clarinet in B-flat, violin, violoncello, contrabass, piano, triangle, cymbals, tambourine, and bass drum.
Listen
The complete recording of The Shaman is available free through Appalachian Virtual Ensemble on Bandcamp.
https://avensemble.bandcamp.com/album/the-shaman
Experience the film
View the Score
The complete score may be viewed or downloaded below.
The passage has begun.
Enter carefully.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
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