Percussion Research

I'm not particularly familiar with percussion instruments. I know roughly what each one is and how they are played, but wouldn't know where to begin with writing for them. Reading the course notes, I thought it would be useful to do some research on a few of the instruments before trying to start the first projects. I found youtube really useful for this because of the visual element; by seeing how they are played you get an appreciation of how different sounds and tones can be generated.

For Project 1 I decided I would use the same instruments as in the notes; side drum, cymbal and wood block. I decided to do some research into these first, but also have a wider look into other percussion instrument. I found this Wikipedia article really useful (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestral_percussion), not so much for the content, but for the examples it gives against each instrument.


Woodblocks

Not knowing much about woodblocks I had a look around the internet. The first thing I came across was this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgc839e_wVc). Whilst this may be perceived as a simply a video of someone playing woodblocks, I found it very useful for a few reasons:

1. It shows the different tone colour you can get depending where you hit the block and which type of beater you use.
2. It shows how nimble players are between different blocks.

Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (or the original musical score itself) uses woodblocks extensively, particularly in the mambo. It adds a really rhythmic element to the music; the percussion writing in general gives each section movement and helps to characterise each dance.

Snare Drum

Unlike woodblocks, I find it very easy to think of examples of writing for snare drum. When used in orchestras, the pieces that spring to mind immediately are where the snare drum part is an ostinato over which the rest of the piece is built - Ravel's Bolero, Shostakovich's Symphony 7 (1st Movement).

I found this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpJTEQawE_E) which shows a study written for snare drum and used as an audition piece. Again, I found it useful to understand how the drum is struck and the complicated rhythms that can be achieved. 

What also comes to mind when I think of a snare drum are those used in the pipe-bands I grew up with at school. Doing some research into pipe-band drumming I found that the pipe section sets the style of a piece (tempo, time signature etc.) but it's up to the drumming section to write their parts; usual the drum major. At drumming competitions, part of the scoring criteria is the originality of the writing.

Cymbals

I found in general that cymbals are used to accentuate a musical line. Unlike the suspended cymbal, clash cymbals can only play individual notes and are rhythmically limited as time must be allowed to sound each note.

When I was searching around I found this excerpt from a documentary about Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqFh43iCUJs). What I found most interesting about this is how the percussionists focused on the appropriate tone that instrument should produce. I was impressed that they tried an array of cymbals before decided which they preferred. The excerpt of the Finale at the end of the video is very impressive.

Tambourine

When I think of the tambourine, I think of Spanish/Latin music. In particular I think of Bizet's Carmen; the tambourine features heavily in the Aragonaise and the Danse Boheme. In the Danse Boheme the rhythms required are quite interesting; I found some videos of people playing it (http://youtu.be/acCvp478aws at 1:47) and most seem to run their fingers along the rim in order to create a trill effect.

Triangle

As the triangle adds a very delicate, subtle tone, it must be used appropriately. Shostakovich uses it effectively in his 9th Symphony (1st Movement) in sections written for solo piccolo; the tone of the triangle blending well with the high thin piccolo melody. Also, looking through the scores I had available, I found many composers write relatively long note values for the triangle compared to other parts. I assume this is to allow the instrument to resonant, thus allowing the sound to penetrate into the overall texture. 

Poulenc - Gloria (1959)

In the same concert as the Puccini we also sang the Poulenc Gloria. I've done this numerous times before, but it is one of my favourite choral works. I think it's unique and has all of Poulenc's character in it. I first came across Poulenc when I played his flute and oboe sonatas. Whilst his music has an edge to it and uses a lot of dissonance, he also writes remarkably beautiful melodies, which are almost haunted by the underlying texture. I used to think you could write either beautiful music or dissonant music, but this piece in particular showed me you could have both. Again we performed this with piano duet which takes a lot of the character out of the piece; I feel Poulenc plays with the orchestral colours more than Puccini; there's certainly a lot more contrast, which is lost with the pianos.


Gloria

The piece opens with an orchestral fanfare, dominated by the brass, completely homophonic. A short, 2 bar bridge passage by the woodwind disconnects us completely from the opening music before the chorus begins with a new motif. Poulenc generally writes in short 2-4 bar phrases with big contrasts in dynamics from ff to pp, giving a neo-classical feel. The movement gradually builds to a climax with short, raucous brass chords.


Laudamus Te

This movement is a more light-hearted, witty affair. Poulenc again uses short phrases with call and responses moving around the choir parts under a detached, polka style accompaniment. The same themes are used repeatedly, but gradually descended down a semi-tone at a time with varying orchestration. This builds to a climax before the solemn Gratias Agimus Tibi section sung by unaccompanied Mezzo-Sopranos (interesting that Poulenc specifies Mezzo rather than Altos). The Propter Magnam Gloriam section continues in a similar vain to the opening of the music, before it returns to end to movement.


Domine Deus

The movement opens with a delicate woodwind melody introducing the Soprano soloist. All the sections for Soprano solo are very restrained and light, calling for a very pure Soprano tone; a stark contrast to the Tenor and Bass/Baritone soloists in the Puccini. The Soprano lines are backed and interjected by the chorus parts. To give more dynamic contrast, Poulenc calls for semi-choruses of each part in the pp passages.


Domine Fili Unigenite

Apparently one of Poulenc's inspirations for this piece was seeing a group of monks playing football. You get that sense of character with this movement and the Laudamus Te; there's a playful jollity to it. Poulenc intertwines the orchestral melodies and harmonic lines to give a continuous sense of movement as wells as being light and detached. Again, as with other movements, he uses short phrases emphasised with rests at the ends of each bar to create some separation.


Dominus Deus, Agnus Dei

This is my favourite movement, particularly the opening orchestra passage. There's something spine jinglingly beautiful about the woodwind writing; piccolo and flute in fifths under dissonant chords. This theme returns later with full strings under horn and woodwind chords to give real bite and power. The soprano Qui tollis peccata mundi lines provide angelic interjections around the choral dissonance.


Qui Sedes Ad Dexteram Patris

The opening of the final movement sees unaccompanied choral lines with interjections of fanfare from the orchestra reminiscent of the first movement. The choir then sing a reprise of the Propter Magnam Gloriam theme from the 2nd movement, interjected with bursts of the opening fanfare. The climax of the section is met with a soprano solo Amen, returning us to the dark, more reflective mood of the previous movement. Again, Poulenc uses the orchestra (harp in particular) to create a sense of movement underneath the long sustained choral lines. A long quiet passage is finally met with 2 ff Amens on top of the opening fanfare theme. This is echoed in the chorus, followed by soprano solo to end the piece.

Puccini - Messa di Gloria (1880)

I performed this piece with a local choir for the 1st time this weekend. I'm not overly familiar with Puccini's work, this mass being completely new to me. It reminds me of some his operas; expressive and dramatic vocal lines and a full, rich orchestral part. He uses large dynamic ranges and localised tempo changes to really emphasise the text and music. Unlike a lot of choral works, I get the impression Puccini wrote this with the idea that the orchestra should play as important a part in the performance as the choir. In the concert at the weekend we performed with piano duet instead of orchestra which I think spoils the work slightly; you lose the orchestral colouring and miss the impact of Puccini's brass and percussion writing.


Kyrie

Puccini begins with piano strings setting out some of the thematic material for the opening Kyrie. The voices enter with a smooth, flowing melody accompanied by minimal orchestral forces (strings and woodwind). The brass and percussion enter with the second thematic subject; a more emphatic and punchy theme hinted at by the strings in the opening.


Gloria

The opening Gloria chorus is a triumphant march which could be lifted straight out of one of his operas. It's interesting how easily Puccini moves from the Soprano and Alto theme in C major straight to Ab for the Tenors and Basses through 1 trumpet fanfare then back to C major again for the tutti section. The et in terra pax section is more reflective with homophonc writing for the chorus and orchestra; the opening trumpet fanfare being echoed in the horns.
The gratias agimus tibi, written for Tenor soloist, is my personal highlight of the piece. The opening Tenor phrases have all the character of an operatic aria, but Puccini shows just how much you can do with 1 motif.  The music of the opening bar is shared all around the orchestra in different keys whilst interjected with short Tenor phases. A return of the Gloria chorus then leads into the domine deus. Here, the pianissimo homophonic chorus sits upon a return of the gratias agimus tibi theme in the orchestra which sets up the qui tollis peccata section. The opening bass melody, doubled by the bass parts in the orchestra is accompanied by pizz strings. When it returns with the sopranos, the orchestral accompaniment is more elaborate, with a counter melody in the woodwind before Puccini develops the melody line. The entire chorus then sings the original melody as a 2 part round which leads into a bridge passage before the cum sancto spiritu fugue which returns later in the movement.


Credo

The opening Credo passage shows the power of unison writing. Puccini achieves suspense and drama through sudden dynamic changes and changing orchestration; in particular the timpani rolls through cresendoing phrases. The Et incarnatus begins with unaccompanied Tenor and chorus to create a solemn feel, almost as though you've just been placed into the middle of a church service. Throughout the Credo, Puccini writes dramatic music that reflects the true meaning of the words. It's also interesting to see the power that comes across when the bass line doubles the vocal line. The movement ends with the et vitam section, a joyful, dance like section in 6/8, again reflecting the meaning of the words. The underlying viola and cello lines give a feeling of movement.


Sanctus

Unlike a lot of other choral works, the Sanctus is fairly restrained except the hosanna sections which sandwich the Baritone Benedictus. The vocal line is very simple, written on top of a restrained orchestra part. It's almost as though this movement is to provide a rest bite from the preceding movements.


Agnus Dei

The Agnus Dei features both soloists and chorus; the latter providing interjections between the solo lines. The orchestral accompaniment is simple, almost Polka like, with alternating bass and string chords. Again, Puccini is able to slip seamlessly between C and Ab major through the solo lines. The music dies away towards the end in a very similar way to the opening Kyrie movement.

Welcome

This is the blog I've set-up which will act as my learning log for the OCA Music 1: Composing Music course I recently enrolled on.