Academic literature on the topic 'Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra'

Until the world première of Joe Duddell's Ruby on 25 July, I had yet to hear a percussion concerto which didn't trip itself up. I thought it was in the nature of the beast: the orchestra develops some material, which is then passed to the percussion, at which point all development perforce stops. Duddell (b. 1972) solved the problem by turning it on its head, and limiting the orchestral material to what the solo percussionist could handle; the downside is that he necessarily limits the expressive scope of the orchestra. Ruby – the title is simply a rhyming-slang working label that stuck: it's the final part of a trilogy of works written for the percussionist Colin Currie – opens with a vibraphone pattern that suggests a lyrical music-box and soon shows a stylistic affinity with American minimalism, which alternates with slabs of good-natured energy. The slow movement begins with tremolo marimba chords over string lines that drift aimlessly and agreeably, with a more active central section spurred by brief brass figures which trigger rising scalic patterns in the vibraphone. The initial material returns with soft-centred strings above hypnotic vibraphone figuration and is sung to a close by the rapturous sound of bowed vibraphone chords. The finale likewise deals in cheerfully mesmeric vibraphone patterns over a wash of strings and stuttering comment from horns and trumpets; the soloist then offers an improvised toccata on drum-kit backed by forceful rhythms from a near-tutti orchestra. The vibraphone resumes its jolly prattle until, seemingly having run out of things to say, the music just stops dead. Currie, supported by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the functional Marin Alsop, played it with obvious commitment, and from memory – no small achievement in such motoric music.

Background. This article discusses the features of the program, the origins and symbolism of extra-musical images of the Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra “Toward That Endless Plain” by the Iranian-American composer of the XX–XXI centuries Reza Vali. There are also some features of the Concerto’s musical material analyzed: the form, instrumentation, and thematic, as well as the influence of Iranian musical traditions. There are no published scientific musicological materials devoted to the consideration of this Concerto from the point of view the comprehensive analysis. In periodical non-scientific literature, only four publications were found regarding this work. These include the article by the American writer Marakay Rogers, in which she gave a brief overview of the music of the Concerto and expressed her favorable impression of the composition. We also have the short article-annotation of American musicologist Brent Reidy and the article by American writer and journalist Lee Passarella written in connection with the release of the album, and the fragment of the interview by American musicologist Ellen Moysan with Reza Vali, where the composer spoke about the using Persian musical system in the Concerto for Ney and Orchestra. The purpose of this article is to consider the specifics of the Concert for Ney and Orchestra by R. Vali in the aspect of the author’s embodiment of the chosen program, as well as the peculiarities of Iranian traditional culture and music and their influence on professional academic music. Methods. The historical method was used to uncover the genesis of the “Sama” genre, also to study the genre features of the Concerto cycle; for considering the features of the structure and thematism of the Concerto the system-analytical method was used. Research results. The Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra “Toward That Endless Plain” was created by Reza Vali in Boston in 2003. In the composer’s legacy, this is the second big work in the concerto genre (for solo instrument and orchestra) and the first his work for an orchestra, which he composed on the base of the Persian traditional musical system. In addition to this Concerto, the composer wrote the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1992) and the Concerto for Kamanche and Ney with Orchestra (2009). The peculiarities of the musical material and its development are determined by the composer’s comprehension of the poem “Call of the Beginning” of the 20th century Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri. Recreating the main images of the poem in the Concerto – the images of a mystic lonely traveler and aggressive surrounding world opposed to him – R. Vali touches on the topics of conflicting relations between an individuality and a society, the tragic panhuman events of our time, and also – of the searches of a lonely person on his spiritual path to God. Understanding the origins of the Concerto’s program and the essence of the images will allow performers and listeners to more deeply penetrate the spirit and idea of the composition. The program of the Concerto is presented as following: the name, epigraph, headings for each part and the author’s notes to the program. The theme, the idea, the content and the images of the Concerto and its connection with the tragic events of the modern world are expressed through the philosophy of Sufism and the symbols contained in it, that was used around 800 years ago by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Reza Vali believes that Sohrab Sepehri contacts the philosophy of ancient poets to the literature of the 20th century. To express the basic musical idea – the search for the path of a human to God and the achievement of unity with him – the composer turns to the solo timbre of the Persian wood wind instrument Ney, which is the bearer of the image of sadness, loneliness, separation from the motherland. The sound of Ney, associated with spiritual search, is presented in Parts I, II and III of the Concerto. In Prelude and Interlude, Ney does not play anything. The theme of the danger is embodied in the Prelude and Interlude through the atonal technique and dissonant sounds of the instruments of the symphony orchestra that associates with the tragic war events that threaten all of humanity and their consequences. R. Vali used both, the European musical (three-part) form and the structures inherent in Iranian music (the mosaic form in Parts I and III based on the classical repertoire of Iranian music (Radif), and the Nobat form in Part II). The structure of the cycle is due to the program concept; its specifics are two additional sections designated as Prelude (before Part I) and Interlude (between Parts II and III). The program led to a change in the sequence of tempo characteristics of the parts in the overall composition of the cycle, which is different from genre customary in a concerto of Western European music. In the R. Vali’s Concert, Parts I and III are slow and Part II is fast. All the headings of the parts correlate with the mystical philosophy of Sufism. The author represents the headings in the score in two languages – Iranian and English that allows a deeper clarification of their semantic characteristics: “Prelude” – “Сhezolmát” / “The Abyss”; Part I – “Gozar” / “Passage”; Part II – “Sámâ” / “Ecstatic Dance”; “Interlude” – “Bargasht” / “Return to the Abyss”; Part III – “Foroud va Fánâ” / “Descent and Dissolve”. In figuratively semantic plan, Prelude and Interlude are in opposition to the three main parts of the Concerto. The cruel, destructive images of the material world that presented in Prelude and Interlude are set against the world of concentrated contemplation, the search of spiritual path for a person, recreated in the I, II and III Parts of the cycle. The musical language of the Concerto has roots in the vocal and instrumental Iranian traditional music – the ancient Dastgāh modal system and maqam forms. The medium size of the symphony orchestra is used in the Concerto. The group of brass and percussion instruments is especially important in creating the atmosphere of cruelty and violence and achieving the wild harsh sound. For showing an impending catastrophe, in finish fragment of Prelude, the composer introduces large and small electronic sirens into the orchestra. Conclusions. The extra-musical content and images of the R. Vali’s Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra and its connection with the tragic events of the modern world history are expressed through the philosophy of Sufism and its symbols. These philosophical ideas, images and symbols are embodied by the composer on various levels of the work as the structural and artistic integrity: 1) at the level of the structure of the modified three-part cycle; 2) in cycle’s tempo organization; 3) in the use of the system of the traditional Iranian music (dastgāh and maqam) in I, II, III parts; 4) in the use of principally distinct thematism in the Prelude and Interlude in comparison with the main parts; 5) at the level of the timbre and texture organization – in the semantization of the Ney‘s timbre and in multifarious, in terms of imagery, interpretation of the orchestra.

Abstract The paper is an attempt at a synthetic presentation of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz’s (1909–1969) musical output and artistic career, presented against the background of events in her personal life, and of major events in Polish and European history in the first seven decades of the 20th century. Bacewicz was called ‘the Polish Sappho’ already in the years between World Wars I and II, when there were very few women-composers capable of creating works comparable to the most eminent achievements of male composers. Her path to success in composition and as a concert soloist leads from lessons with her father, the Lithuanian Vincas Bacevičius, to studies at the Łódź and Warsaw Conservatories (violin with Józef Jarzębski, composition with Kazimierz Sikorski), and later with Nadia Boulanger at the École Normale de la Musique, as well as violin lessons with André Tourret. Her oeuvre has for many years been linked with neoclassicism, and folkloric inspirations are evident in many of her works. Her crowning achievement in the neoclassical style is the Concerto for String Orchestra of 1948, while influences from folklore can distinctly be heard in many concert pieces and small forms. The breakthrough came around 1958, under the influence of avant-garde trends present in West European music, which came to be adapted in Poland thanks to the political transformations and the rejection of socialist realism. In such pieces as Music for Strings, Trumpets and Percussion of 1958, Bacewicz transforms her previously fundamental musical components (melody, rhythm, harmony) into a qualitatively new type of sound structures, mainly focused on the coloristic aspects. Grażyna Bacewicz also applied the twelve-note technique, albeit to a limited extent, as in String Quartet No. 6 (1960). Her last work was the unfinished ballet Desire to a libretto by Mieczysław Bibrowski after Pablo Picasso’s play Le désir attrapé par la queue.

The concerto evidently appeals to HK Gruber, as symphonies do not. He has so far written four works that are unambiguously in this form: ‘…aus schatten duft gewebt…’, a concerto for violin and orchestra of 1977–8; the concerto for percussion and orchestra Rough Music (Rauhetöne) of 1982–3; Nebelsteinmusik, for solo violin and string orchestra, of 1988; and the Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra of 1989. Ambiguous examples of the form are his early Concerto for Orchestra (1960–64) – concertos for orchestra are by definition ambiguous – and Frankenstein!!, his ‘pan–demonium’ (rather than ‘concerto’) for baritone chansonnier and orchestra (on children's rhymes by H.C. Artmann), finalized in 1977. Then there are four works which remain in manuscript (withdrawn from circulation): Concerto No. l for flute, vibraphone, xylophone and percussion (1961); Concerto No. 2 for tenor saxophone, double bass and percussion (1961); ‘furbass’ for double bass and orchestra; and an unsatisfactory forerunner of the violin concerto, Arien (1974–5). The symphony he has not touched; and one is tempted to see in this reliance on solo/ensemble confrontation an attempt to hold together the self–splintered, all too globally diversified language of the late 20th century by an eloquent soloist's sheer persuasiveness, by musical force, so to speak, the soloist being dramatized as a kind of Atlas. In the same way Gruber's recourse to popular songs and idioms of ‘light music’ in these works can seem like a desperate attempt to find a tonal prop and sanction for a language so pervasively threatened by tone–deafness and gobbledygook.

The orchestration of Karabyts’ Third Concerto for Orchestra “Holosinnia” (“Lamentations”) has been studied. The relevance of the study. Despite a number of research works on Karabits’ Third Concerto its orchestration remains little studied yet. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to examine orchestration of the Third Concerto for orchestra and to research the interaction between ‘traditional’ and ‘innovative’ traits in Concerto’s orchestration. The methods of the research. The score analysis lies in the core of the paper but historical, comparative, and semiotic methods of analysis have been applied as well. Attention is focused on the combination of traditional and innovative origins which paved the way for the composer to rethink the methods of presentation in the orchestra. Thus, these transformations reflect the original (author’s) approach to the genre. It was emphasized that Karabyts interprets the synthetical character inherent to the concerto for orchestra genre particularly wide. It is emphasized that this approach allows the composer to identify a palette of genres of instrumental music: for one performer, different combinations of chamber ensembles, concerto grosso and solo instrumental concerto. In particular, the opposition between two groups was strengthened not only due to unequal quantity of performers in each of them (concerto grosso), but also by relying on the different nature of the material or the use of bells or tube, quite rare in this role, to solo (solo concerto). The combination of traditional and innovative is reflected in the composition of the orchestra (paired with a large percussion group) and the approach to percussion instruments (endowing them with melodic, semantic, formative and other functions). It is emphasized that Karabyts repeatedly applies “percussion-like" interpretation in relation to other instruments. Such an approach results in a qualitative transformation of the instruments: the inherent warmth of a string timbre decreases; the singularity of each wind color neutral-lizes. Complications of semantics at each rhythmic, intonation, and timbre ostinato formulas are revealed. The introduction of a particular (author’s) approach to the baroque tradition of combining the functions of a soloist and a capellmeister, the manifestation of which is the solo of bells perso-nally made by Karabyts, has been noticed. The conclusions state that the Concerto’s orchestration plays important role in dialectically combination of “objective” and traditional (the passage of time, the history of the people, destiny) with “subjective” and individual (the author’s attitude to events and their rethinking). Such an approach is typical for the twentieth-century musical art. The significance of the research is that it reveals the importance of orchestration as a means of expression and thus brings better understanding of the functional potential of orchestration within the frame of the twentieth-century art tendencies.

The article introduces Jia Daqun's Concerto for Percussion and Symphony Orchestra "Fusion II" into Russian musicology for the first time. The work is considered as one of the illustrative examples of the inclusion of traditional Chinese percussion instruments in symphony orchestra. Following modern trends in unconventional ways of playing the tanggu solo drum, the composer achieves a timbre transformation which, along with rhythmic and dynamic qualities, allows to imitate the sound of Indian drums and African tambourines. The new sound created in this way becomes one of the indicators of the cross-cultural integration, which is accomplished not by mechanical borrowing of authentic musical material, but by developing a distinctive rhythmic pattern and sound production techniques. The combination of the timbres of Chinese gong and the vibrato of stringed instruments in Fusion II creates slowdowns and an "echo" effect typical for electronic music. In the Concerto all the features of the genre are observed, but the classical constant received a refraction in the light of modern processes, which required the composer to use new and sometimes harsh methods, almost completely eliminating the lyrical expression.

‘Pierrot Dreaming’. MUSGRAVE: Canta! Canta!; Ring Out Wild Bells; Threnody; Pierrot; Chamber Concerto No. 2. Victoria Soames Samek (cl), Gabrielle Byam-Grounds (fl), David Le Page (vn/va), Matthew Sharp (vc), Mark Troop (pno). Clarinet Classics CC0038.‘The Fall of Narcissus’. MUSGRAVE: Serenade; Narcissus; Impromptu for flute and cello; Wind Quintet; Impromptu No. 2 for flute, oboe and clarinet; Four Portraits for baritone, clarinet and piano. Victoria Soames Samek (cl), Members of English Serenata, David Le Page (va), Matthew Sharp (vc), Stephen Varcoe (bar), Rachel Masters (hp). Clarinet Classics CC0039.MUSGRAVE: Memento Vitae; Helios; Night Music; The Seasons. Nicholas Daniel (ob), Scottish Chamber Orchestra c. Nicholas Kraemer; BBC Symphony Orchestra c. Jac van Steen. NMC (ANCORA+) D074.‘Oriental Landscapes’. MUSGRAVE: Journey Through a Japanese Landscape. CHEN YI: Percussion Concerto. ZHOU LONG: Out of Tang Court. HOVHANESS: Fantasy on Japanese Wood Prints. Evelyn Glennie (perc), Singapore Symphony Orchestra c. Lan Shui. BIS CD 1222.

Many of Justin Connolly's works have been premièred and recorded by Nicholas Hodges, whose musicianship provided the inspiration for Connolly's Piano Concerto (2001–2003). The form and character of the piece are influenced by the ancient idea of the labyrinth, the forces of soloist and orchestra being well suited to the roles of Theseus and the Minotaur, where one protagonist signifies the existence of the other and the distinction between hero and villain is not always apparent. The orchestral forces employed are unexceptional. Brass and percussion are divided into two separate groups to the left and right of the conductor, whilst the first horn player sits apart from his colleagues and is mirrored by a fourth, offstage, horn player.

The concerto form is well represented in James MacMillan's output. So far, he has written three for piano, two for percussion and one each for violin, viola, cello, trumpet, oboe and clarinet. There is also threaded through his output a series of concertante works, such as A Deep but Dazzling Darkness, for violin, ensemble and tape (2003), A Scotch Bestiary, for organ and orchestra (2004) and the concertino Seraph, for trumpet and strings (2010). All share a common concern to realise fully the soloist's expressive potential.

KENNETH LEIGHTON: Sonatinas Nos. 1 and 2, op.1; Sonata No.1 op.2; Sonata No.2 op.17; Five Studies op.22; Fantasia Contrappuntistica (Homage to Bach) op.24; Variations op.30; Nine Variations op.36; Pieces for Angela op.47; Conflicts (Fantasy on Two Themes) op.51; Six Studies (Study-Variations) op.56; Sonata (1972) op.64; Household Pets op.86; Four Romantic Pieces op.95; Jack-in-the-Box; Study; Lazy-bones. Angela Brownridge (pno). Delphian DCD 34301-3 (3-CD set).PATRICK PIGGOTT: Fantasia quasi una Sonata; 8 Preludes and a Postlude (Third Set). Second Piano Sonata. Malcolm Binns (pno). British Music Society BMS 430CD.SORABJI: Fantasia ispanica. Jonathan Powell (pno). Altarus AIR-CD-9084.ROWLEY: Concerto for piano, strings and percussion, op.49. DARNTON: Concertino for piano and string orchestra. GERHARD: Concerto for piano and strings. FERGUSON: Concerto for piano and string orchestra, op.12. Peter Donohoe (pno and c.), Northern Sinfonia. Naxos 8.557290.Severnside Composers’ Alliance Inaugural Piano Recital. GEOFFREY SELF: Sonatina 1. IVOR GURNEY:Preludes, Sets 1, 2 and 3. JOLYON LAYCOCK: L’Abri Pataud. RICHARD BERNARD: On Erin Shore. STEVEN KINGS: Fingers Pointing to the Moon. SUSAN COPPARD: Round and Around. JOHN PITTS: Aire 1; Fantasies 1, 5. JAMES PATTEN: Nocturnes 3, 4. SULYEN CARADON: Dorian Dirge. RAYMOND WARREN: Monody; Chaconne. Peter Jacobs (pno). Live recording, 23 February 2005. Dunelm DRD0238.Severnside Composers’ Alliance – A Recital by two pianists. MARTINŮ: Three Czech Dances. BEDFORD: Hoquetus David. JOHN PITTS: Changes. HOLLOWAY: Gilded Goldbergs Suite. JOLYON LAYCOCK: Die! A1 Sparrow. POULENC: Élégie. LUTOSLAWSKI: Paganini Variations. Steven Kings, Christopher Northam (pnos). Live recording, 14 May 2005. Dunelm DRD0243.‘Transcendent Journey’. FOULDS: Gandharva-Music, op.49; April-England, op.48 no.1. CORIGLIANO: Fantasia on an Ostinato. PROKOFIEV: Toccata, op.11. With works by BACH-CHUQUISENGO, HANDEL, BEETHOVENLISZT, BACH-BUSONI, SCHUMANN. Juan José Chuquisengo (pno). Sony SK 93829.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 107 p.; also includes graphics, music. Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-107). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Music Performance
D.M.A.
A doctoral thesis based on the Concerto No. 1 for Flute, String Orchestra and Percussion by Nicolas Real. Historic background and musical analysis of the work.
Temple University--Theses

The original composition Bombasticism: Concerto for Four Percussion and Large Orchestra seeks to expand percussion ensemble literature, to the extent that the percussion quartet unites with the symphony orchestra in atypical fashion. This percussion quartet explores both expanded instrumentation as well as creates a homogenous new sound that suggests the importance of the percussion instrumentation collectively with wind and string instruments. Bombasticism diverges from traditional concerto by offering differing levels of soloist within the percussion quartet. The different levels of solo performance include; individual soloists in contrast to the percussion quartet, individual soloists layered within the percussion quartet in contrast to the orchestra, and the percussion quartet acting as a collective soloist in contrast to the full symphony orchestra. The percussion voice in Bombasticism shows wide variety not only as a rhythmic machine, but also plays an important melodic and harmonic role through the composition. Throughout the work, the percussion family contributes a complete array of sound to the composition in every aspect of musical language. Bombasticism is written in three movements. Each movement differs from the next in instrumentation, tempo, rhythmic intent, and pitch centers. The first movement, Skins, spotlight percussion instruments with drum heads. The timpani and roto-tom soloists will perform on pitched instruments, and the snare drum and bass drum soloists will perform on non-pitched instruments during the movement. Along with this instrumentation awareness, the primary compositional focus is rhythm. The second movement, Metal & Wood, utilizes percussion instruments that are made of metal or wood only. Pitched instruments include marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, and chimes. Nonpitched instruments involved are woodblock, anvil, cymbals, and hi-hat. The primary focus of this movement is the exploration of various approaches to tonality. The third movement, Tutti Causatum, incorporates all the percussion instruments used in the first two movements. This movement is the most rhythmically active, as most of the movement is based on the groupings of two, three, and four sixteenth notes. Tutti Causatum is the final telling of how Bombasticism mingles all the timbres of the percussion family to create a balance and unity within the orchestra.

Master of Music
Department of Music
Kurt Gartner
This is a report for anyone playing or teaching any one of the following pieces: Concerto for Vibraphone and Orchestra by Ney Rosauro, Surface Tension by Dave Hollinden, Urban Sketches for Percussion Trio by Lon W. Chaffin, Take Five by Paul Desmond, or DT Supreme by Austin Barnes. The repertoire is analyzed by the method given in Jan Larue’s book Guidelines for Style and Analysis. The report includes interpretive decisions, technical considerations, harmonic analysis, and form.

Carter’s mid-life oeuvre much of it composed in Europe, can be divided into three phases. From the Cello Sonata to the Variations for Orchestra he achieved a synthesis of European modernism, especially as found in the music of Schoenberg, Berg and Bartók, and American ultra-modernism; in all of these works Carter either quoted or alluded to compositions by Charles Ives. The works from the Second Quartet to the Concerto for Orchestra reflect his ambivalent connection with the European avant-garde. While he was particularly impressed with the spatial composition and expansion of percussion found in works of Boulez and Stockhausen, he rejected the algorithmic and aleatoric aspects of their music. After 1968 Carter returned to New York and became a central figure in the “uptown” new music scene. He formed a particularly close association with the new music group, Speculum Musicae.