Instrumentation
2 Flutes (doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in Bb
2 Bassoons
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in Bb
1 Tenor Trombone
2 Percussion (see below)
Piano
Strings
Score is in C. The piccolo sounds an octave above the written note, and the contrabass sounds an octave lower than written.
Percussion Chart
Percussion 1
Marimba Bass Drum (horizontal)
Conga
High Bongo
Medium Temple Block
Hi Hat
Maracas (high - thin pitch)
Djembe
Low Bongo
Mounted Castanets
Percussion 2
Marimba Djembe
Dumbek
Low High Log Drum
Medium Tam tam
Frame Drum
Bamboo Wind Chimes
Small suspended cymbal
High Pitch Clave
Medium sizzle cymbal (suspended)
Caxixi
Mounted Castanets
Mounted Guiro
Performance Indications
Medium fast
Any note may be played following the indicated contour
Highest possible note
Double Bass - Slap instrument on side
Cluster chord (Black keys) - follow contour or placement
Dampen cymbals
Play any notes following contour (percussion)
Program Note
Acana is a work inspired by a poem dedicated to a tree of the sapotaceas family. The poem of the same name written by the Cuban Laureate Poet Nicholas Guillen is part of a collection of poems called “El Son Entero” published in “La Gaceta del Caribe” in 1944.
Guillen’s poem Acana tells the story of this tree, one with wide spreading roots found across Leon’s native Cuba.
The Acana tree is indigenous to the American Meridian. The wood of this tree is remarkably strong. It is commonly used to construct support beams of rustic homes and depending of the region is used to many varied purposes.