Beyond The Clouds

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Jim Casella

General Info

Year of Published: 2017
Publisher: Tapspace
Difficulty: Advanced
Duration: 00:07:00
Cost: $55.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Glockenspiel & Mark Tree & Bongos & Slapstick
Player 2: Xylophone & Glockenspiel & Vibraslap & Mark Tree & Conga (High)
Player 3: Chimes & Crotales & Sizzle Cymbal & China Cymbal & Splash Cymbal & Singing Bowl (Himalayan) & Garden Wesel
Player 4: Vibraphone & Temple Blocks
Player 5: Vibraphone & Claves & Wood Block (Tiny + Small + Medium) & Suspended Cymbal
Player 6: Marimba & Shaker (Small)
Player 7: Marimba & Suspended Cymbal & Finger Cymbals (Tibetan)
Player 8: Marimba & Sizzle Cymbal & Finger Cymbals (Tibetan)
Player 9: Marimba & Chinese Gong (12")
Player 10: Timpani & Triangle (Large + Medium)
Player 11: 4 Concert Tom Tom & Yak Bells (Himalayan) & Snare Drum & Suspended Cymbal & Cowbell & Ankle Bells
Player 12: Concert Bass Drum & Kick Drum & Tam Tam & Mark Tree & Wind Chimes (Bamboo) & Hi Hat & Ride Cymbal & Rain Stick & Sleigh Bells & Rod Rattle

Description

Jim Casella's Beyond the Clouds was written after a transformational trip to Nepal where he and a group of friends trekked for weeks to the remote Himalayan base of the Annapurna massif. This piece for full percussion orchestra calls for a few rare instruments found in that region, which give the piece a unique sound. Instruments like Himalayan yak bells, singing bowl, bamboo wind chimes, Tibetan finger cymbals, and pod rattles all cohere into one exotic and expansive sound palette. With driving rhythms, nuanced space, and layered, memorable themes that make Casella's music so unique, Beyond the Clouds is a vibrant representation of the human spirit. Beyond the Clouds was commissioned in 2017 by Joe Hobbs and the Vandegrift High School Percussion Ensemble from Austin, Texas. It is dedicated to Joe Hobbs, Mark Hunter, and Sean Womack.

Review

This piece offers an auditory experience for audiences, as Jim Casella takes them to the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. The piece is inspired by a trip taken there during the monsoon season and reflects the adventure of hiking through the rainy mountain region.

The work calls for some unusual instruments such as Himalayan Yak bells, a pod rattle, ankle bells, and singing bowls. Casella offers insight on where to obtain these instruments or how to find reasonable substitutes. The mallet players will need to be rather adept and agile with two mallets, playing fast scalar passages up and down the instruments. Syncopations between the instruments create a consistent rhythm amongst the mallets.

The fast opening is highlighted by the melody in the vibraphone part. In the middle section the malelt instruments are to be played with "shaft slaps" and with the butt of the mallet. This helps to create a unique wooden sound that recalls the sound of rain in the mountains. As the piece builds back up we return to the opening material, that then slowy fades back down leaving only the marimba scale passages as the sounds of yak bells and bamboo wind chimes ring in the distance.

This piece would be an excellent addition to the repertoire of an advanced high school or collegiate percussion ensemble. If a big enough stage is used, spreading the ensemble out would allow for some very interesting antiphonal effects for the audience. Casella has done an excellent job of capturing the rainy hikes he describes in the program notes. by Josh Armstrong [1]

Performance Notes

1. Singing bowls and Tibetan finger cymbals are pretty easy to find in Himalayan specialty stores or vendors who sell meditation supplies. The bowl needs to be used for both singing as well as struck using muted and open strokes. Tibetan finger cymbals are heavier and thicker than the finger cymbals and the sound should be dark with a long decay.
2. The Chinese gong should be a small and splashy sounding. It should not be a tam-tam style instrument. This gong should colour and enhance the sound of the Tibetan finger cymbals.
3. Bamboo wind chimes should sound peaceful and distant. Jim Casella suggest mixing a larger set with a smaller set for a wide spectrum of bamboo sounds. These can work like the yak bells, gently sounding from afar.
4. An authentic pod rattle may be harder to find than the synthetic ones made by Meinl Percussion (often called 'birds' or 'waterfall'). The Meinl Percussion versions work great and will be available from any percussion instrument supplier.
5. Ankle bells and sleigh bells should differ in timbre with ankle bels sounding lower and darker.
6. Vibraphone pedaling is written in when it's intended to be specific, and "no pedal" is sometimes used when no sustain is deliberate. In all other cases, vibraphone players can use their best judgement on proper pedal phrasing and amounts. Long notes typically indicate a sustained sound, even if pedal indications aren't included.
7. The offset glockenspiel duet that starts at bar 147 is intended to be performed on two separate sets of glockenspiel giving it more special separation on stage.
8. There is the potential for the mounted kick drum and muted timpani parts to overpower some of the mallet shaft parts. Take care in balancing these drum parts the keyboard texture, and consider playing them with sticks rather than felt mallets for a thinner, shorter sound.

Recent Performance

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Solo

Prime Ordinals - Multiple Percussion, Djembe

Solo with Ensemble

Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe - Marimba, Percussion Nonet

Small Ensemble

Altered Gates - Percussion Quintet

Medium Ensemble

Beyond The Clouds - Percussion (12)
Cyclone - Percussion Ensemble (12)
Katraterra - Percussion Nonet
Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe Redux - Percussion Nonet

Large Ensemble

Compound Autonomy - Percussion Ensemble (15)
Cop Drama - Percussion Ensemble (16)
Dystopia - Percussion Ensemble (15)
Joaquin on Sunshine - Percussion Ensemble (15-17)
Stormbreak - Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble (optional)
Technology (Casella) - Percussion Ensemble
Truth or Consequence - Percussion Ensemble (19)
Windows of the Maloca - Percussion Ensemble(14)

Reference

  1. Percussive Notes, Volume 56, No. 3, July 2018