Two Pieces for Percussion Quartet
Daniel Burwasser
About this work:
I. Nocturne
II. Creatures
The Two Pieces for Percussion Quartet, completed in 1987, presents two antithetical images.
In Nocturne, the composer chose various ringing, metalic instruments such as triangle, vibraphone, glockenspiel, crotales, and cymbals to depict a rural, pastoral landscape at dusk-- the closing bars suggest the glimmer of stars. These sounds are lightly punctuated and contrasted throughout with less resonant instruments like the marimba, xylophone , and timpani. The arhythmia of the timpani line in particular, evokes an ominous undercurrent as one might sense while looking up at a calm evening sky.
Creatures describes the chaotic atmosphere of an urban infestation of various multi-legged beings. A special technique is introduced in this piece where the performers play specific pitches on the marimba and xylophone with the ratan part of the mallets, thus producing sounds emulating the scurrying of tiny feet. This technique pervades the entire movement. There are also loud eruptions as new types of creatures emerge and the infestation mounts. The conclusion of Creatures uses imitative counterpoint to create a cumulative affect in the music as one creature appears one after the another. The final three bars express a sudden human presence, resulting in a quick dispersion of the creature population.
The first performance of Two Pieces for Percussion Quartet was given on March 13, 1989 by The Brooklyn College Percussion Ensemble.
Year composed: 1987
Duration: 00:08:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Percussion Ensembles
Instrumentation: 4 Percussion (General)
Instrumentation notes: Percussion 1: marimba (with low A), xylophone, crotale (Bb), triangle
Percussion 2: marimba (with low A), vibraphone
Percussion 3: glock, chimes, 2 woodblocks (high/low), tambourine, bell tree, bongos
Percussion 4: 4 to 5 pedal timpani, triangle, susp cym, chinese cym