The Hunt
General Info
Subtitle: A Fantasy for Marimba and Percussion Orchestra
Year of Publication: 2005
Publisher: C. Alan
Duration: 00:11:00
Cost: $48.00
Instrumentation
Soloist: Marimba (5-octave)
Player 1: Marimba (5-octave), bass drum
Player 2: Marimba (4.3-octave), congas, suspended cymbal
Player 3: vibraphone, thunder sheet, tam-tam, suspended cymbal
Player 4: Glockenspiel, crotales, chimes, bass drum, Marimba (5-octave), thunder sheet, rain stick
Player 5: wind chimes, suspended cymbal, 8 Octo-bans , splash cymbal, kick bass, bongos, snare drum
Player 6: bass drum, tam-tam, suspended cymbal, splash cymbal, snare drum, 4 tom-toms, congas, log drum, thunder sheet, talking drum, China cymbal
Player 7: tam-tam, suspended cymbal, China cymbal, bass drum, snare drum, 4 tom-toms, rain stick
Player 8: 5 Timpani
Description
The Hunt by Noah Taylor for solo marimba and percussion octet. Taylor captures two main themes throughout the free formed, rhapsodizing work. The piece opens with a chorale in B flat minor played by the solo marimbist and several of the other mallet players. This chorale expresses Taylor's awe of nature. As the chorale hymn fades away into the distance, an ominous foreshadowing of the hunt ensues.
The second theme is the actual hunt that occurs in the wild. This fast, intense music based around the octatonic scale in many tonalities reflects the danger and carnage that exists, not just among animals, but the elements as well. Throughout this virtuoso section, there are film-like visualization of the 'hunter' pursuing the unknowing 'hunted'. After a vivid interplay and final battle into a dramatic climax, an extensive fortissimo gong hit signals an end to the hunt.
After a brief ensemble and virtuoso marimba cadenza depicting the hunt's afterthoughts, the opening hymn is brought back, this time in E flat minor, which again restates an emotional response to the hunt. The final coda, while similar in tempo to the hunting music, has no violent tendencies. It is a noble and majestic conclusion with a feeling of hope ending in an exciting flourish in E flat major. This creates a musical rebirth that allows the listener to leave the piece with a similar feeling of respect and admiration of nature that Taylor possesses. It also leaves the actual result of the hunt open-ended. Did the 'hunter' triumph or did the 'hunted' escape?