Dreams From the Dark Forest - Revision history

Admin: Text replacement - "Year of Published" to "Year"

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	[[Brian Slawson]]		[[Brian Slawson]]
	== General Info ==		== General Info ==
	Year ~~of Published~~: 2019 <br/>		Year: 2019 <br/>
	Publisher: [[Tapspace Publications]] <br/>		Publisher: [[Tapspace Publications]] <br/>
	Difficulty: Elementary <br/>		Difficulty: Elementary <br/>

Rubyng2004 at 07:40, 11 June 2026

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	[[Brian Slawson]]		[[Brian Slawson]]
	== General Info ==		== General Info ==
	Year: 2019 <br/>		Year of Published: 2019 <br/>
	Publisher: [[Tapspace]] <br/>		Publisher: [[Tapspace Publications]] <br/>
	Difficulty: Elementary <br/>		Difficulty: Elementary <br/>
	Duration: 00:02:19 <br/>		Duration: 00:02:19 <br/>
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	==Recent Performance==		==Recent Performance==
	[https://youtu.be/zVClMVX_6hQ?list=PLH-W15Fi8fUqnhGZPZ52TkdjcdAJduQ55 ~~Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Percussion Ensemble 2]~~		<embedvideo service="youtube">https://youtu.be/zVClMVX_6hQ?list=PLH-W15Fi8fUqnhGZPZ52TkdjcdAJduQ55 </embedvideo>

	==Review==		==Review==
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	==Reference==		==Reference==

	[[Category:Percussion Ensemble Works]]		[[Category: Percussion Ensemble Works]]
	[[Category:Percussion 13 ~~Works]]~~		[[Category: Percussion 13 Works]]
	~~[[Category:Percussion 12+~~ Works]]

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Text replacement - "Category: Percussion Ensemble Works Category: Percussion 13 Works" to "Category:Percussion Ensemble Works Category:Percussion 13 Works Category:Percussion 12+ Works"

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	==Reference==		==Reference==

	[[Category: Percussion Ensemble Works]]		[[Category:Percussion Ensemble Works]]
	[[Category: Percussion 13 Works]]		[[Category:Percussion 13 Works]]
			[[Category:Percussion 12+ Works]]

Admin: Text replacement - "Year of Published" to "Year"

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Text replacement - "Year of Published" to "Year"

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	[[Brian Slawson]]		[[Brian Slawson]]
	== General Info ==		== General Info ==
	Year ~~of Published~~: 2019 <br/>		Year: 2019 <br/>
	Publisher: [[Tapspace]] <br/>		Publisher: [[Tapspace]] <br/>
	Difficulty: Elementary <br/>		Difficulty: Elementary <br/>

Rubyng2004 at 03:38, 15 November 2022

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	[[Brian Slawson]]		[[Brian Slawson]]
			== General Info ==
			Year of Published: 2019 <br/>
			Publisher: [[Tapspace]] <br/>
			Difficulty: Elementary <br/>
			Duration: 00:02:19 <br/>
			Cost: $38.00 <br/>

	==Description==		==Description==

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Reference

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	[[Category: Percussion Ensemble Works]]		[[Category: Percussion Ensemble Works]]
	[[Category: Percussion ~~12+~~ Works]]		[[Category: Percussion 13 Works]]

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Movements

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	Movement I: Myths & Legends resembles an introduction to a collection of fairy tales. The music should remain subtle and serve as a setup for what is to follow. <br/>		Movement I: Myths & Legends resembles an introduction to a collection of fairy tales. The music should remain subtle and serve as a setup for what is to follow. <br/>
	Movement II: The Great Beyond has a distant, tribal character. As in the first movement, the ensemble should maintain a subtle approach to the dynamics in order to best serve the narrative. <br/>		Movement II: The Great Beyond has a distant, tribal character. As in the first movement, the ensemble should maintain a subtle approach to the dynamics in order to best serve the narrative. <br/>
	Movement III:. Cloudburst is a fully improvised musical depiction of a thunderstorm. Started by the concert bass drum, all effects to follow are left to the discretion of the performers. Rolling while pedaling on an upside-down cymbal placed on a timpano can create atmospheric sounds. Bowed gongs and cymbals, thunder sheets, wooden toys, and bird whistles can also be used to great effect. Even in free improvisation, the greatest results occur by listening to each other and focusing on the sum of the parts. <br/>		Movement III:. Cloudburst is a fully improvised musical depiction of a thunderstorm. Started by the concert [[bass drum]], all effects to follow are left to the discretion of the performers. Rolling while pedaling on an upside-down [[cymbal]] placed on a timpano can create atmospheric sounds. Bowed [[gongs]] and [[cymbals]], [[thunder sheets]], wooden toys, and [[bird whistles]] can also be used to great effect. Even in free improvisation, the greatest results occur by listening to each other and focusing on the sum of the parts. <br/>
	Movement IV: Whispers of Warriors Past, like the second movement, begins with a distant timpani call. Be patient with the dynamic build and end the story with a powerful climax. <br/>		Movement IV: Whispers of Warriors Past, like the second movement, begins with a distant timpani call. Be patient with the dynamic build and end the story with a powerful climax. <br/>

S03625411: Created page with "Brian Slawson ==Description== Dreams from the Dark Forest is a progressive four-movement work composed by Brian Slawson, designed to challenge young percussionists to..."

2021-12-06T03:59:08Z

Created page with "Brian Slawson ==Description== Dreams from the Dark Forest is a progressive four-movement work composed by Brian Slawson, designed to challenge young percussionists to..."

New page

[[Brian Slawson]]

==Description==
Dreams from the Dark Forest is a progressive four-movement work composed by [[Brian Slawson]], designed to challenge young percussionists to formulate a narrative through instrumental music. [[Brian Slawson]] titled each movement to provide just enough information to stimulate the imagination and allow the performers to create a unique and singular interpretation of the composition. The piece may be performed in its entirety as a multi-movement work, or alternately, each of the movements below can stand on their own, making this a versatile piece for middle school and high school ensembles.

==Movements==
Movement I: Myths & Legends resembles an introduction to a collection of fairy tales. The music should remain subtle and serve as a setup for what is to follow. 
Movement II: The Great Beyond has a distant, tribal character. As in the first movement, the ensemble should maintain a subtle approach to the dynamics in order to best serve the narrative. 
Movement III:. Cloudburst is a fully improvised musical depiction of a thunderstorm. Started by the concert bass drum, all effects to follow are left to the discretion of the performers. Rolling while pedaling on an upside-down cymbal placed on a timpano can create atmospheric sounds. Bowed gongs and cymbals, thunder sheets, wooden toys, and bird whistles can also be used to great effect. Even in free improvisation, the greatest results occur by listening to each other and focusing on the sum of the parts. 
Movement IV: Whispers of Warriors Past, like the second movement, begins with a distant timpani call. Be patient with the dynamic build and end the story with a powerful climax. 

==Instrumentation==
Player 1: [[Ukulele]] & [[Crash Cymbals]] & [[Suspended Cymbal]] 
Player 2: [[Glockenspiel]] 
Player 3: [[Chimes]] 
Player 4: [[Vibraphone]] 
Player 5: [[Xylophone]]] 
Player 6: [[Marimba]] 
Player 7: [[Marimba]] 
Player 8: [[Timpani]] 
Player 9: [[Woodblocks]] 
Player 10: [[Finger Cymbals]] & Concert [[Tom-toms]] & [[Vibraslap]] & [[Thunder Sheet]] 
Player 11: [[Tambourine]] & [[Congas]] 
Player 12: [[Crotales]] & Concert [[Bass Drum]] 
Player 13: [[Tam-tam]] & [[Triangle]] & [[Sleigh Bells]] 

==Recent Performance==
[https://youtu.be/zVClMVX_6hQ?list=PLH-W15Fi8fUqnhGZPZ52TkdjcdAJduQ55 Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Percussion Ensemble 2]

==Review==
It can be challenging to find repertoire to help young percussionists see past the notes on a page and develop an overall character. “Dreams from the Dark Forest” helps to bridge this gap and opens up dialogue by providing an open-ended thematic concept. Each of the four movements includes a specific yet broad title to give young percussionists an opportunity to take a small idea and run with it in their own way.

Scored for 13 players, [[Brian Slawson]] includes some challenging instrumentation for young-er ensembles but provides some information to ease wary directors. The ukulele part consists of mostly open-string individual lines with a few simple chords, not requiring an experienced player. If crotales are not available, [[Brian Slawson]] provides useful alternatives — including energy [[chimes]] or [[glockenspiel]] with [[finger cymbals]] — to replicate the effect. He also includes a large list of possible instruments for the improvised thunderstorm (Movement III), providing ensembles with several options.

The level of difficulty for each part is fairly consistent throughout the movements; however, the overall challenges from the most difficult mallet parts to the percussion parts does vary. All parts are limited to whole notes through eighth notes. The percussion parts are significantly less demanding than the mallet parts, allowing for some ease and flexibility in part assignments. All mallet parts are similar, written mostly in A-minor or D-minor, depending on the movement. The timpani part requires some tuning in between movements, potentially requiring a more advanced player. Overall, this four-movement piece allows for an ensemble with a diverse range of skills to perform together and focus more on the music beyond the notes on the page.

“Dreams from the Dark Forest” allows directors to move away from simply teaching the notes or rhythms and opens up avenues of discussion on creating a unique programmatic performance. The composer cleverly includes open-ended program notes to allow for the meaning of each movement to be a joint discussion within an ensemble, even including the third improvised movement. This is a great ensemble for middle schools or young high school groups looking to encourage creativity from within the ensemble to take ownership of the character of each movement.
Written by Matthew Geiger <ref> Percussive Notes Volume 58, No. 1, February 2020 </ref>

==Works for Percussion by this Composer==
{{Slawson, Brian Works}}

==Reference==

[[Category: Percussion Ensemble Works]]
[[Category: Percussion 12+ Works]]