What clarity? (with perc. ens. version)

Composer Name

General Info

Year: 2005
Duration: c. 18:00 + Cadenza
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Dave Hollinden
Cost: Score and Parts - $100.00 | Solo Part Only - $20.00

Movements

Instrumentation

Solo

Snare Drum, 6 Tom Toms, High-hat, Tambourine with head, Almglocken, 2 Cowbells, 2 Temple Blocks, 2 Wood Blocks, 3 Bell Plates, 2 Brake Drums, Metal Pipe, Tibetan Prayer Bowl, Tibetan Prayer Cymbal

Ensemble

Player 1: Vibraphone 1
Player 2: Vibraphone 2
Player 3: Marimba 1
Player 4: Marimba 2
Player 5: Marimba 3
Player 6: Marimba 4
Player 7: Timpani
Player 8: Cymbals, Opera Gong, Tambourine, Castanets, Slapstick, Triangle, Crotales, Chimes, Xylophone
Player 9: Cymbals, Opera Gong, Tambourine, Claves, Slapstick, Sandpaper Blocks, Triangle, Vibraslap, Shaker
Player 10: Cymbals, Ratchet, Woodblocks, Tam Tam
Player 11: Bass Drum, Thundersheet, Tam Tam, Log Drum/Slit Drum, Maracas

Program Notes

About The Piece
The piece opens slowly (mm=44) and quietly, with sparse orchestration and the soloist on snare drum (Introspective). There is a gradual increase in tempo and energy leading to rhythmic dialog between the snare drum and a large mallet choir formed from nearly the entire ensemble (Resolute, determinded). This erupts into a fff tutti at a ponderously slow tempo over which the soloist performs virtuosic snare drum passage work in double time (With great commotion). This large body of sound eventually collapses, dissolving into a very quiet and softly shaped section for Timpani, low marimba, vibraphone and the Soloist on metal instruments (Spent, vulnerable).

A brief chordal section (Sober, solemn) leads to the second half of the piece, which is based on brisk, angular rhythmic themes and in which the Soloist utilizes the full multipercussion setup in dialog with the ensemble. Sections for full ensemble and Soloist (Bracing, with a sudden burst of energy and Playful) are followed by rhythmic passage work for the mallet choir alone (Anxious, demanding), and finally a short duet for Timpani and the Soloist on High-hat (Persistent, determined). The final section (Precise, confident) distills the harmonic and rhythmic elements of the piece by means of rhythmic dialog between the full ensemble and the Soloist on a large, low Tom Tom.

Regarding the Title
While the question mark formally makes the title a question, "what clarity?" is actually a statement. It is a response, a reply to the assumption that answers are necessary.

When I first sat down to work on this piece, I was busy with questions about life; questions that ultimately had no answers yet were keeping me fixated. When I finally began putting notes on paper, the questions were still with me, as is evident in the opening of the piece marked "Introspective" in the score.

It was when I put these first notes on paper, however, that my ideas began to develop freely and relationships began to grow in the music. I wrote the rest of the piece without restraint, unencumbered by my earlier questioning. In searching for a title I thought of how the piece came about, of the questions to which I found no answers. In this sense, "what clarity?" reflects how the piece was composed by not needing an answer.^[1]

Errata

Awards

Commercial Discography

Recent Performances

Andrew Spencer, soloist and the University of Iowa Percussion Ensemble conducted by Dan Moore, April 22, 2005.
Cindy Terhune, soloist, and the University of Wisconsin Percussion Ensemble conducted by Anthony Di Sanza, April 21, 2005.

To submit a performance please join the TEK Percussion Database

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Additional Resources

References

↑ http://www.davehollinden.com/whatclarityperc.html

[1] ttp://www.davehollinden.com/whatclarityperc.html

[1]