6 percussion
The opening gains a great deal of its influence from Steve Reich’s Nagoya Marimbas in the sense that all of the instruments blend amorphously to form a single sound rather than emphasizing any one instrument. By using composite rhythms and changes in time signature the sense of a down beat is masked until specific points within the piece. The central section of this piece contains a greater exploration of texture. The melodic interest weaves its way through the ensemble while still keeping the sense of the musical “sets.” During this section the intensity is greatly increased leading up to the first unison passage of the piece. From this point there is a series of sections which move between six person amorphous texture and the weaving melodic material. This creates an increase in tension which builds to an unexpected end.
Commissioned by the Washburn Percussion Collective