Hurtling Through Space at an Unimaginable Speed
General Info
Year of Published: 2011
Publisher: Maslanka Press
Duration: 00:14:00
Cost: Score and Parts $75 | Score Only $35
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Vibraphone
Player 3: Vibraphone
Player 4: Xylophone & Crotales
Player 5: Marimba
Player 6: Marimba
Player 7: Marimba
Player 8: Chimes & Tenor Drum & Tam-tam & 2 Log Drum (Small)
Player 9: 4 Concert Tom-toms & Tam-tam & Suspended Cymbal (Small and Large) & Sizzle Cymbal & Gong (Small) & 2 Log Drum (Large)
Player 10: Bass Drum & Triangle (Large) & Gong (Small) & Rain Stick (Large) & Anvil & Wind Machine
Player 11: 4 Suspended Cymbals & Gong (Small) & Sleigh Bell & Anvil & Wind Machine
Player 12: Timpani
Description
Hurtling Through Space – which is what we are doing on planet Earth. Terrifying as this realization may seem, the universe is not inimical to us. At the core of the “all that is” is the heart of love. Hurtling is a vigorous and challenging piece for all players. It is percussion ensemble, yet its center is beautiful melody. It makes me smile!
Program Note
The impetus for this piece was a cartoon that I doodled some few years ago at a concert: “Hurtling through space at an unimaginable speed” – which is what we are doing on planet Earth. Considered abstractly this is a terrifying idea. Who knows where we are going, what we might hit, what might hit us? Earth and its life are the tiniest of tiny specks in a universe of billions of galaxies. What we don’t know about all this dwarfs into the ridiculous what we do know. It “smalls” us! On the other hand, we are not separate from the universe. Our living minds and bodies are a manifestation of the same life force that brings us the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, and the weirdness of the idea of time. It is not inimical to us. At the core of the core of the core of the all-that-is, is the heart of love.
Recent Performance
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Arcadia II: Concerto for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble - Marimba, Percussion Sextet
Concerto for Marimba and Band (Maslanka) - Marimba, Band
Crown of Thorns - Percussion Octet - Mallet Ensemble
David’s Book: Concerto for Solo Percussionist and Wind Ensemble - Multiple Percussion, Wind Ensemble
Hohner - Percussion Ensemble (21)
Hurtling Through Space at an Unimaginable Speed - Percussion Ensemble (12)
In Lonely Fields - Multiple Percussion, Chamber Orchestra
Montana Music: Three Dances for Percussion - Percussion Septet +1 for 3rd Mvmnt, Piano, Double Bass
My Lady White - Marimba
A Solemn Music - Marimba
Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba - Marimba, Alto Saxophone
This is the world we know, the world of air and breathing and sun and beating hearts - Percussion Duo, 2 Pianos
Time Stream - Steel Drum Ensemble
Variations on ‘Lost Love’ - Marimba