TSAO
One-Way Street for Ensemble Score
MING TSAO
One-Way Street
for Ensemble
Score
POD PETERS on demand
Performance Notes
Instrumentation: clarinet in b-flat, oboe, violin, viola, violoncello and percussion (1 vibraphone and 1 low timpani drum).
Seating arrangement:
General Notes:
a) Duration of the piece is approximately 13 minutes.
b) Score is transposed.
c) All of the instruments should be amplified slightly with microphones. This includes a separate microphone for the vibraphone and for the timpani drum.
d) Quarter-tone notation:
= one quarter-tone sharp
= one quarter-tone flat
Winds (clarinet and oboe):
a) = the sound is forcibly cut off with the tongue (as if simulating a 'reverse' attack).
b) = flutter-tongue
c) = inhalation (a sound of sucking in air)
d) = exhalation (a sound of blowing out air)
Clarinet (in b-flat):
a) = Toneless breathing through the prescribed fingerings for the indicated pitch.
b) = Breathy, with only a hint of pitch.
c) = Breathy, yet with pitch fully identifiable.
d) The fingerings of the multiphonics are taken from Phillip Rehfeldt's 'New Directions for Clarinet', revised edition (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1994). The multiphonics with squiggly lines indicates a high degree of noise content.
Oboe:
a) = Use fingerings that give a duller and more diffuse tone.
Fingerings for diffuse tones, double harmonics and multiphoics are taken from The Techniques of Oboe Playing by Peter Veale and Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf (Barenreiter: Kassel, Germany 1994). Each multiphonic is accompanied with its list number from this text.
b) = Natural harmonic
c) In measures 70-77, the oboe is asked to make use of the 'special effect' cited in The Techniques of Oboe Playing (pg. 138), where the reed is removed and the lips of the performer cover the aperture as the performer gently inhales. Soft harmonic-like sounds should be produced.
d) = Toneless breathing through the prescribed fingerings for the indicated pitch.
Strings:
a) The strings make use of two clefs: a lower clef that indicates the position of the left hand on the instrument and an upper clef that indicates the general position of the bow or right hand fingers on the instrument. The upper (right hand) clef notates the following general positions on the instrument:
b) = dampen the strings with the left hand over the lower half of the neck (i.e., in either first or second position).
= unmute the strings for the required rhythmic duration.
c) = slight overpressure bowing
This technique requires moving the bow both vertically along the trajectory of the notated line (or curve) and horizontally so that the bow hairs can set the muted string into vibration. It is best to perform this action using the upper quarter of the bow where the pressure of the bow against the strings is weakest. The sonic result of this action should not be that of a 'crunch' sound. Indeed, the pitch that the bow hairs make when gently scraping along the strings should be the audible result. It is to be played extremely delicately with quasi pitch glissandi being the most audible result. Occasionally, the unmuting symbol is notated in the lower stave while the overpressure bowing occurs in the upper stave. This effect slightly amplifies the overpressure bowing (note that the pitch of the open string(s) will not be audible in this context).
d) = Overpressure as above but with extremely slow bowing. This action should be performed toward the frog of the bow. The aural result is a very soft creaking sound. In mm. 106-117, the violin and viola are asked to alternate between the extremely slow bowing with overpressure to a flautato bowling with extremely light pressure and balancing the dynamics between them.
e) Some of the playing by the strings is toneless bowing, where the left hand dampens the strings and the right hand bows the strings both horizontally and vertically creating varying degrees of white noise. It is important to follow the notated gesture as faithfully as possible on the instrument, paying attention to ritardando and accelerando curves. There are occasional gestures in which the right hand moves the bow quickly from molto sul tasto to molto sul pont (or vice versa), creating a slightly dramatic effect (as in m. 38).
f) = the sound is forcibly 'cut off' by keeping the bow affixed to the string(s) to prevent them from vibrating any further (simulating a reverse bow stroke)
i) col legno tratto = Bow the string(s) with the wood of the bow so that pitch is only slightly audible.
j) 1/2 col legno tratto = Angle the bow slightly so that the string(s) is bowed with part wood and part bow hair so that any pitch in the left hand is still clearly audible but perhaps with a bit of 'dirt'.
k) Ord. or arco indicates a return to standard playing technique with the bow.
l) = natural harmonic on the indicated open string(s) with the notated fingering.
m) = shaded harmonic on the open string. This requires muting the string slightly behind the notated fingering with another finger so that only a hint of the harmonic pitch is perceptible. Its sonic appearance should be that of a 'ghost' tone. In a rapid passage of shaded harmonics, the effect for each shaded harmonic can be produced by applying slightly more pressure than required for a natural harmonic coupled with a flautato bowing (i.e., fast bowing with light pressure).
n) Occasionally, only one pitch is notated on the lower stave but two separate strings are notated on the upper stave. This indicates that the string that has no corresponding left hand fingering is to be muted with the other fingers of the left hand, producing white noise on that string as it is bowed.
g) = let the vibration of the string die on its own accord.
h) Dynamics in quotations, such as f', refer to the amount of force required to produce a sound and not necessarily the sounding result.
o) Tailpiece clef. In measures 80-92, the strings are occasionally required to bow extremely slowly but with pressure on the upper part of the tailpiece. The aural result is to gently produce as low a tone as possible on the vibrating tailpiece.
p) = Pizz strum. A pizz. downstroke with the right hand fingers, using
primarily the flesh of the fingers, across all four strings beginning with string IV.
A pizz. upstroke with the right hand fingers, using a backstroke with the nails of the fingers, across all four strings beginning with string I. The upper clef indicates generally where on the strings this action should be performed.
Often, these pizz. strums are coupled with a left hand fingering for a harmonic or an open string(s). When a left hand fingering is notated (or an open string), the right hand must still strum across all four strings, where the other strings are simply dampened with the remaining left hand fingers.
This strum on the violin and viola is also performed with a plectrum. In this case the plectrum simply acts as an amplifier for the fingernails where an upstroke or downstroke requires arpeggiating all four strings with the plectrum beginning with string IV or string I respectively.
Violoncello:
a) One rubber practice mute and one finely threaded thin metal rod (American size 6-32, 1 foot or longer) are required.
b) The violoncello is detuned in the following manner. Note that the following pitches are always to be performed with the open strings. The lower stave for the left hand is transposed.
q) = bar across all four strings at the indicated position with a left hand finger.
r) = left-hand finger percussion.
Violin:
a) One steel practice mute (or tonwolf mute), one plectrum (medium thickness, approx. 1 mm.) and one glass (or plexiglass) guitar slide are required.
b) The violin is detuned in the following manner. Note that the following pitches are always to be performed with the open strings. The lower stave for the left hand is transposed.
Viola:
a) One steel practice mute (or tonwolf mute), one plectrum (medium thickness, approx. 1 mm.) and one glass (or plexiglass) guitar slide are required.
b) The viola is detuned in the following manner. Note that the following pitches are always to be performed with the open strings. The lower stave for the left hand is transposed.
c) The upper stave for the right hand is not transposed. In mm. 109-16, the performer draws the finely threaded thin metal rod along the indicated string, bowing the string with the rod, while the left hand mutes the string. When the exact pitch is notated, it is the sounding pitch at the position where the rod is bowing the string. The aural result should be a more delicate version of the gently overpressure sound indicated above.
d) = arco battutto with overpressure. This gesture is to be performed as an arco battutto followed by moving the bow vertically up or down the strings with some horizontal bowing to perpetuate the bouncing of the bow. The aural effect should sound like a quiet 'rattling' of the bow hairs against the string(s).
Percussion: One vibraphone with fully functional motor and one low timpani drum.
a) The timpani drum should encompass the following pitch range:
b) The following accessories are required:(i) two contrabass bows, (ii) one large, soft timpani mallet, (iii) two very hard, plastic mallets usually used for marimba (a pair of brass metal mallets would be preferable), (iv) four soft vibraphone mallets, (v) one heavy gauge metal wire brush, (vi) four separate metal snares approx. 10 cm. wide, (vii) two separate metal snares approx. 5 cm. wide, (viii) one glass, or plexiglass, guitar slide, (ix) one finely threaded thin metal rod (American size 6-32, 1 foot or longer), (x) one full metal wire coat hanger, (xi) one sheet of sand paper and (xii) a roll of masking tape.
Preparing the vibraphone.
In mm. 153-81, the four large metal snares (10 cm. wide) are to be placed under the bars indicated in parentheses in m.153. One end of the snare should be placed under an indicated bar and the other end taped down with masking tape on the top of the nearest bar where there is a gap to slip the snare under (i.e., either between B-flat and C-sharp or E-flat and F-sharp). The snares should be secured so that when the vibraphone motor is turned on, the loose end of the snare that lies under the vibraphone bar strikes the bar from underneath producing a 'clacking' sound. Note that this preparation is to take place during the first repetition of measures 153-81 and, when the preparation is complete, the motor is then turned on.
c) = muting the indicated vibraphone bar with the fingers.
d) = keep the vibraphone pedal depressed until the sound dies out.
e) = overpressure with bowing
f) Timpani pitches in parentheses indicate the pedal only. The head of the drum is not to be struck.
One-Way Street
(soft harmonic-like sounds should be produced)
(Oboeist walks quietly with instrument over to vibraphone.)
(Drag heavy brush up and down head of timp.)
(Bring out as much of the harmonics on the open string
(Note: allow strings II, III to vibrate sympathetically)
(Place one end of snare against head of timp. Gliss the bottom end of a glass guitar slide up and down the snare.)
(Note: oboeist turns motor on.)
Place
Let a "buzzing" sound occur while bowing at the 3rd
(Note: fingerings for string IV are transposed according to normal tuning of 'C'. With string
* Note: Balance the dynamics between the flautando bowing and the slow bow overpressure so that the aural result is consistently 'pp'.
(The left hand glissando should be clearly heard during the flautando bowings.)
* Note: Balance the dynamics between the flautando bowing and the slow bow overpressure so that the aural result is consistently 'pp'.
(Note: refinger each finger with each ascending pattern.)
(Exchange metal rod for bow.)
Strum across all four strings with nails of right hand.
Strike with soft mallets. Make the attack as imperceptible as possible.
(Note: 'x' indicates to mute the indicated vibraphone bar with the fingers.)
Hammer fingers back onto strings II-IV after open strings have been strummed by right hand. r audible release of left hand fingers
Strum across all four strings with
Tempo Rubato (percussionist freely moves through the passage at a variable slow pace)
(as loud as possible)
Note: When the vibraphone motor is off (as it is for this page), make sure that the rotating plates are horizontal to increase the duration of the sustain.
pizz. (I-IV) (extremely slow gliss.) con sord. (use metal practice mute) Gently and very slowly strum across all four strings from lowest to highest with plectrum.
of
keys. Complete this preparation during the 1st repeat. When the preparation is complete, turn the motor on slow to medium speed. The aural result should be a 'clacking' sound of the snare ends striking the vibraphone bars. Very gradually, increase the speed of the motor to its fastest speed over the course of the repetitions.
(f)
Timp.: 3rd repeat only! Each attack occurs in the center of the head ( ). The attack should produce more noise than pitch (akin to a giant snare drum).
(Note: lay the attached snare flat on the upper part of the timpani head as a preparation.)
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