Three By Three
Faye-Ellen1 Silverman
About this work:
The percussion trio “Three by Three” explores the monophonic, polyphonic, and homophonic possibilities of different groupings of pitched and non-pitches percussion instruments. It consists of three short movements (hence the title) and two even shorter interludes. Both interludes are for the same solo player and use the same instruments. Movement one grows from one player on non-pitched percussion instruments to two to three. Both the second and third players begin in unison with player number one, and gradually branch out to independent parts. The movement, which has progressed from soft drum sounds played with the fingers to wooden and other non-drum sounds, ends with a touch of pitched percussion. Movement two, by contrast, consists of pitched percussion, with just a hint of non-pitched timbres. The middle of the movement contains a duet for two vibraphones. Movement three maintains the pitched/non-pitched ratio of the previous movement, but includes chords as well as polyphonic lines. At times, all three players perform on different instruments, but sometimes the balance shifts to two similar/one contrasting timbres.
Year composed: 1979
Duration: 00:08:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Percussion Ensembles
Instrumentation: 3 Percussion (General)