Black Bear Dance
Pamela J. Marshall
About this work:
A jazzy, light-hearted piece for a quartet or choir of horns, with African drums. Fun to play!
In Black Bear Dance, I indulge my love of drumming, which really energizes the horn sound. The title comes from a line in the text for my choral piece "Weaving the World": "and black bears roam the woods unseen". The choral director rehearsed it a lot, looking for a natural declamation and in-tune intervals and the image of a secret dance of bears stuck in my mind. I worried that the name might imply American Indian, which the music is not. Then on the Internet I found the Bear Dance painting of William Holbrook Beard. Aside from the fact that he was mocking stock-market bears, the image was just right.
Year composed: 2006
Duration: 00:04:10
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 6-9 players
Instrumentation: 4 Horn in F, 1 Other Percussion Instrument(s)
Instrumentation notes: Percussion is a one or more African drums, such as djembe. All parts can be doubled.