Ideal for enriching orchestral repertoires with sounds from non-Western cultures, Pulse (1995) sees New Zealand's Jack Body look to the Baining Fire Dance of Papua New Guinea for inspiration: "The music, for all the apparent simplicity of its elements, had astonishing complexity and richness which I have tried to unravel through my transcription. I have also made references to composers whose music explores in interesting ways the articulation of music pulse: Beethoven, Berlioz and Stravinksy."
Jack Body (1944–2015), composer, ethnomusicologist, teacher, music publisher, record producer and photographer, born in Te Aroha and educated in New Zealand and Europe. Following an overland journey in 1971, Body became fascinated with Asian music. His subsequent absorption of musical styles from outside the Western classical tradition gave him the reputation of a composer who has greatly extended the resources of contemporary New Zealand music.
