holler
Andrea La Rose
About this work:
Many of my ideas come when I'm not actually trying to think of them, and this piece is the result of that kind of situation. I don't remember what inspired the piece; I only remember walking through the alley behind The Boston Conservatory when I got the idea to surround the audience in Seully Hall with drums and trombones playing very loudly. I was warned against evoking the "fight-or-flight" response in the audience members with an auditory assault from behind, but this was really the effect I was looking for. Many people seek out visceral thrills; why not in the concert hall, too? I wanted something raucous to finish off my recital and I had wanted to write an antiphonal work for quite some time, as well. The piece has four sections delineated by four large-ratio polyrhythms. In slightly less non-composerspeak, that means that the entrances of the instruments are spaced out according to specific ratios, in this case being 32:25, 28:25, 24:25, and 16:25. These ratios are not meant to be audible; instead, they serve as a way of bringing structure to the piece and creating rhythmic tension.
Year composed: 2000
Duration: 00:07:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 6-9 players
Instrumentation: 4 Trombone, 4 Percussion (General)
Instrumentation notes: percussion = 4 toms