Flesh and Bone

Rick Dior

General Info

Year of Published: 2018
Publisher: Tapspace Publications
Difficulty: Advanced
Duration: 00:06:30
Cost: $48.00

Instrumentation

Soloist

Player 1: Congas & pedal Cabasa & pedal Djembe & mounted Djembe
Player 2: Pipe Drum & Kick Drum & Shaker

Ensemble

Player 1: Glockenspiel & Shekere
Player 2: Vibraphone
Player 3: Marimba 1
Player 4: Marimba 2
Player 5: Marimba 3 & Wood BLock & Finger Cymbals
Player 6: Marimba 4 & Crotales & Suspended Cymbal & Temple Blocks

Performance Notes

Notes for Soloist 1

The two djembes should be sized differently if possible. The pedal djembe should be larger and have a deep, ringing low end. The djembe pedal beater should be made of soft lamb's wool or similar material.

Notes for Soloist 2

The pedal bass drum should be tuned similar to a drum set kick drum. It should have lots of punch and a wooden or hard plastic beater is recommended. The shaker at letter K should be of medium size and not too loud. As a substitute for the pedal cabasa a pedal maraca or hi hat can be used.

General Notes

The soloists should be sensitive to the volume of the mallet instruments throughout. There are several sections of melodic material where the soloist act as accompanists. Letter J is a solo section for both soloists. This section can be opened up to feature backing percussion performed by the other six players. The feel should be similar to an African Bembe/Nanigo groove. Instruments can include all manner of shakers, log drums, surdo, cowbells, claves etc. Make sure the accompanists don't overshadow the soloist.

Description

Rick Dior’s Flesh and Bone takes its name from the two soloists featured in the work. The first soloist plays their instruments using their hands (as in flesh) and the second soloist plays with sticks (as in bones) to produce sound. These two soloists are accompanied by a six piece mallet ensemble. In addition to African rhythms used throughout the piece, the musical material of Flesh and Bone uses complex compound time signatures, running melodic lines, and driving unison statements to make one cohesive and lasting musical impression!

Review

The title of this piece comes from the implements utilized by the two soloists. One soloist plays with hands (flesh), while the other soloist plays with sticks (bones). Reminiscent of a WGI-sounding piece combining rudimental drumming with a dash of world music flare, “Flesh and Bone” calls for one of the soloists to have good command of contemporary rudimental techniques while having the coordination to play pedal bass drum “hits” with some of the rhythmic figures (many times syncopated)—and that’s just the first 16 bars!

The second soloist will have to have fairly advanced conga/hand percussion technique: the ability to perform open vs. closed strokes, open hand slaps, heel/toe technique, muted slaps—they are all included. Coupled with that are the pedaled djembe and the pedaled cabasa, which adds a drumset element to the soloist’s arsenal.

The written mallet parts are quite tricky and create layered grooves that, oftentimes, make the pulse of the music feel like it’s floating. Shifting back and forth between simple, compound, and asymmetric meters is relatively common throughout the composition, so identifying those areas and working through them to seamlessly perform the composition will be an area on which to focus. Four-mallet technique is required of all but the bass marimba player (Mallet 4), though none of the passages for four mallets are very difficult. Counting and rhythmic precision will be of the utmost importance to success- fully perform this piece.

I would recommend this piece for a college/professional ensemble whose members have extensive experience in playing together with a soloist. The grooves are solid through- out, and the melody is catchy enough to listen to, even for the novice listener.

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Solo

Till the Cows Come Home - Timbales with foot percussion

Small Ensemble

Equinox - Percussion Nonet
Flesh and Bone - Percussion Octet
Heavy Metals - Percussion Octet
Wiggle Room - Percussion 10

Large Ensemble

Minor Infraction - Percussion 13
Science Fiction - Percussion 12
When Worlds Collide - Percussion 12

Flexible Ensemble

Four Dances