Monday 11 February 2013

Assignment 1: A composition for a group of untuned percussion


Reflections of ‘Wild Dance’

I found this an extremely challenging and interesting task, which really allowed me to experiment with character and range of the instruments and the use of a variety of time signatures.   Although elements of the plan I made in Project 4 have been altered slightly, the basic structure of the piece remains the same using an A, B, A, B, C structure. 

Below is Assignment 1 followed by my reflections of this piece:















Section A & Section C– ‘Demon’s Clash’ and ‘Demon’s Battle’

As mentioned in the original plan, I used the introduction given as a starting block to extend the principal section of this piece.  Centred around the idea of the demons fighting for power and attention, I created a mirror image of bars 3-14, elongating the piece and continuing the feel of an unbalanced rhythm.

As section A is repeated later in the piece, it sees the introduction of each instruments rhythm, which they have demonstrated in their solo.  I believe that although the principal ideas have been repeated each time, the piece remains fresh and interesting each time section A is heard with the addition of each instrument. 

Section C is the natural progression that occurs as each instrument blends its own rhythm into the principal section (A) of the piece.   Although it reflects the original use of variable metre from section A, very little of the ideas from section A remain.  I have opted to keep the idea of mirroring rhythm and dynamics in some places, but I believe that the character of each instrument has blended together well to create an expressive and frantic finale. 

The last three bars of the piece reflect the demon’s fatigue before an unmarked death in the final bars.  The use of dynamics here was essential to give the feel of the final push before death. 

Section B – ‘Demon’s Solo’

Although section B is labelled as the subsidiary section of this piece, I believe it be the most important section for bringing together and exploring the character of each instrument.  Although simplistic in the way some instruments play a muted rhythm to accompany the soloist, it allows the principal section to constantly evolve each time it is repeated by incorporating the instruments rhythm, demonstrated in its solo in section B.

During these solo sections I have incorporated a number of idea and motifs to demonstrate the character of each instrument, whilst also reflecting the character of the demon.   During each solo, I have tried to use dynamics and rhythm, drawing inspiration from the use of each instrument throughout history. 

The tambourine plays the part of a small, sinister demon resembling a snake.  I drew inspiration for this from the tambourine’s use in Italian folk music, especially the frequent use of trills and short notes.  I have tried to use this to reflect the hiss of the snake and the notation of short notes gives us the sense of this demon’s more frantic and sinister side. 

The snare drum plays the part of a stern, strong and large creature.  I have tried to draw on the military background of the snare drum, incorporating the use of trills and short expressive beats, whilst contrasting it with the slightly more varying and impulse beats seen in a number of traditional pieces played on the tabor and fife. 

The cymbal plays the role of a small creature with a shrill, loud cry.  As the cymbal develops throughout the piece I have used only crotchets and semiquavers to develop a more simplistic rhythm, which does not overpower the other instruments.  I relied heavily on the use dynamics to ensure the cymbal’s loud character didn’t lose the sense of struggle and equality in battle. 

The bass drum played the largest and darkest character.  The bass drum’s use across a range of musical genres inspired me to use its deep tone to build a feeling of doom and darkness.  It was hard not to incorporate the instrument’s military background through the use of trills, but I also tried to shorten notes to explore the instrument’s range.  

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