Percussion Ensemble
(for at least 3 players) (2010)
Alexander Hunter
Percussion Ensemble Performance Note Percussion Ensemble for eight players was written in October of 2010 in Elgin, Illinois. The eight performers are each represented in the score by a letter (A, B, C, etc.) and are to perform without a full‐time, independent conductor. The performers are to setup so each can make eye contact with, and see the hands of every other, as they are to receive cues from each other during performance. Each performer is to read from the score during performance. If fewer than eight musicians are available, the piece may be performed with as few as three, but each performance must include at least one pitched percussion performer (C, D, E) and one non‐pitched, non‐drum performer (A, B, G, H). In the case of fewer than eight musicians being present only those events which involved those present are to be played. The pitches chosen are based on the overtone series of ‘F1’ (which is never heard), with a preference for pitches lower in the series and more consonant upper harmonics. The pitches used in the keyboard percussion parts were selected from the list below.
Percussion Ensemble was written using ‘moment form’. Each event is numbered and is to be separated from events before and after by relative silence. The ensemble may perform any number of events in any order, and may repeat events (no necessarily consecutively) up to five times. In this way the piece could last anywhere from ten seconds to over an hour. The next event is to be cued only after all the intentional sounds have ceased to resonate, and a brief pause – one or two breaths – has been observed. In this way a performance in a large hall may be significantly longer than one in a small recital room. Preference should, of course, be given to more resonant performance spaces, but the piece is
designed to accommodate any space. Linear spatial relationships within each event represent time, with ten seconds per event being the upper limit. Pitches which are in‐line vertically are to be sounded simultaneously. When more than one performer is to play at the same time the performer nearer the top of the page (‘A’ being at the very top) will be responsible for cueing that part of the event. Nothing should feel rushed – the overall mood should be one of relaxation and observation. There are seven different noteheads used, each indicating a different method of striking or exciting an object. •
Finger tip
o ‘Heel’ of the hand X Brush Mallet Drum stick, chop stick or stick end of mallet Bow1 (S – drawn slowly, M – drawn at a medium pace, F – drawn quickly) Metal beater Though striking/exciting methods and materials will differ greatly in each performance a quiet dynamic is to be maintained throughout – no one sound being louder or more prominent than any other. 1 The relative length of each bowed sound is to be decided on an individual basis
and may differ from event to event. Simultaneous bowed sounds of the same relative length from different instruments need not be identical.
A. Five resonant metals2 (ex. almglocken3, crotales, chimes, bells, gongs, tam‐tams, cymbals, saucepans) B. Five resonant metals (ex. almglocken, crotales, chimes, bells, gongs, tam‐ tams, cymbals, saucepans) C. Vibraphone (without motor) – with mallet and bow D. Vibraphone (without motor) – with mallet and bow E. Marimba (with ‘A2’) F. Five drums of any size (ex. concert bass drum, concert toms, multi‐tenor ‘marching’ drums, floor toms, bongos) G. Five pieces of resonant glass or porcelain (ex. a tea set, china plates, wine glasses, glass mixing bowls) H. Five pieces of non‐resonant metal (ex. brake drum, dampened cymbal, radiator, drum set hardware, a lamp, a tuba) A T Hunter, October 2010 – Elgin, IL
2 Choosing all five (or any combination) from one category (ex. saucepans) is
acceptable, as long as the sounds the instruments produce represent a relative variety. 3 Almglocken, crotales and other pitched percussion should be selected from the above mentioned [sounding] pitches.
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