Lalita Nartya was composed when Odissi* dancer Églantine Bisserier suggested I should write a piece to accompany pre-existing choreography. Some essential features, such as the rhapsodic structure of the piece and the frequent shifts in rhythm and atmosphere, were therefore dictated by the demands of the choreographic language. The challenge was to maintain the formal unity of the musical work while not thwarting the existing choreographic discourse. As might be expected, the harmonic language b...