Blood Rite for orchestra
Randolph L. Partain
About this work:
Blood Rite is a parable of sorts commenting on a world in which the pervasiveness of conflict is accepted without question. Whether it is nation against nation, business against business, or person against person, our world is rife with hostility.
In this single-movement work for orchestra, it is two melodic themes which compete for dominance throughout the piece. As the struggle takes its toll, the two melodies become increasingly fragmented, and after a short recurrence of the opening pulsations, the final section of the piece holds the culmination of the battle. Although many examples can be cited in which two musical ideas meld into coexistence or in which one motive achieves dominance over another in the final strains of a piece, Blood Rite explores the sacrifice both sides endure from the competition for supremacy. At the climax of the drama, the work holds only snatches of the two themes, fragmented into gestures which build to an explosive finish devoid of either melody in its entirety. The final section of the piece is dominated more by a complex rhythmic ostinato than by either of the melodies which vied for the limelight in previous sections of the work.
Blood Rite was premiered in November of 2005 at Rice University by the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Myssyk.
Year composed: 2005
Duration: 00:09:23
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 1 Piccolo, 2 Flute, 2 Oboe, 1 English Horn, 2 Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoon, 1 Contrabassoon, 4 Horn in F, 3 Trumpet, 1 Trombone, 2 Bass Trombone, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 2 Percussion (General), 1 Marimba, 1 Piano, 1 Strings (General), 1 Harp
Instrumentation notes: Marimbist also plays Tubular Bells.
Percussion 1: Snare Drum (with brushes and with sticks), Tam Tam (arco and with soft beaters), Claves, Bass Drum, Low Tom.
Percussion 2: Sandpaper Blocks, Suspended Cymbal, Bass Drum, Bongos (with hands and with sticks), Snare Drum (with sticks), Medium Brake Drum (with hammer).