Percussion - Memorial University DAIcollections.mun.ca/PDFs/munmusic/19850406.pdfPercussion Presented in ... well for marimba and was transcribed by percussionist Morris Goldenberg.

THE DEPARTMENTOF~~~==========~==========~~~~~=============:

NIUSIC MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

GRADUATION RECITAL

GEORGE MORGAN

Percussion

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Music

Saturday, 6 April 1985, at 8:00 p.m.

The Little Theatre

PROGRAMME

Concerto for Violin in A minor (1st mvt.)

DIANE SMITH, piano

Recital Suite for Solo Snare Drum

1. Anticipation 2. Couplets 3. Conclusion

Eight Pieces for Solo Timpani (Nos. VIII, VI, & IV)

No. VI I I No. VI No. IV

March Canto Recitative

Four Preludes for Vibraphone and Piano

Andante - Tempo rubato con express~one Allegro Giocoso Lento ma non troppo Allegro vivace spirito

GRETCHEN SCHOENBERG, piano

INTERMISSION

Agamemnon- Suite for Solo Percussion (1973)

1. Prologue (Allegro patetico) 2. Mycenae (Mysterioso) 3. Troy (Molto agitato3 quasi cadenza) 4. Epilogue (Lento3 poco mesto)

J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

William J. Shinstine

Elliott Carter ( 1908- )

Marta Ptaszyfiska

I van a Loudova (1941- )

Concertina for Marimba & Orchestra, Opus 21 (3rd mvt.) Paul Creston ( 1906- )

GRETCHEN SCHOENBERG, piano

I OSKR I {1985) * Don Wherry

Percussion: DON WHERRY GEORGE MORGAN ALEX DRISCOLL

Fulcrum (1985)* George Morgan

1. Mirror Plus 2. Incline 3. What

*premiere performance

Percussion: DON WHERRY GEORGE MORGAN ALEX DRISCOLL

PROGRAMME NOTES

Concerto for Violin in A rrrinor (1st mvt.) Bach The vast majority of solo marimba repertoire has been written within the last

thirty years. Before this time it was (and still is) customary to transcribe solo violin repertoire for the marimba and xylophone. This particular piece works very well for marimba and was transcribed by percussionist Morris Goldenberg.

Recital Suite for Solo Snare Drum Shinstine There is a surprising amount of solo snare drum repertoire in existence. One

common characteristic of snare drum writing is the explicit detail of the notation. Included in the first movement is notation indicating playing position on the drum head and playing on the rim. In the second movement, Couplets, the actual snare is turned off. A wire brush and a hard, felt timpani mallet are substituted for snare drum sticks. It is interesting how, in the middle of this movement, the mallet seems to suddenly control the pulse which the brush initiated.

This piece was ·awarded 2nd place in the 1980 Percussive Arts Society Compo­sition contest.

Eight Pieces for Solo Timpani (Nos. VIII~ VI~ & IV) Carter The American composer Elliott Carter wrote his pieces for timpani in 1949 and

1966. There are eight in all but Carter has expressly requested that they not all be performed together. The choice of pieces and the order in which they are played are left to the performers, although the composer desires the greatest possible variation. In consecutive movements only one of the four pitches may remain constant.

These particular scores and the performance notes for them are explicit. The hand dampening of the timpani all have a specific metric value. Some other items discussed in the performance notes are the use of harmonics, different striking positions on the drum head, and the use of dead strokes in which the mallet remains on the drum head after the note has been articulated.

Four Preludes for Vibraphone and Piano Ptaszynska Marta Ptaszynska is a Polish composer who now resides in Connecticut, U.S.A.

She has won many international awards for her compositions. Encompassed within these preludes are a variety of mood changes, from melancholy to mirth. The frequent use of parallel fifths create, at times, a modal flavour.

Agamemnon - Suite for Solo Percussion Loudova Czechoslovakia•s leading composer, Ivana Loudova, was the first female student

of composition admitted to the Prague Academy of Arts & Music.

Percussion instruments have the widest dynamic range of all instruments, from ppp on a triangle to sfffz on a bass drum. It is this extreme dynamic range which allows for the acute intensity present in this solo for multiple percussion. This work shows a thorough craftsmanship in its creating. Notable is the use of silence as a potent musical element.

Concertina for Marimba & Orchestra~ Op. 21 (3rd mvt.) Creston Few contemporary American composers have shown more active interest in pro­

viding music for wind and percussion instruments of the concert band than Paul Creston.

This particular concertina, written in 1940, is now recognized as a standard work for solo marimba. The third movement has, for good reason, been labeled 11 lively11

• The quick tempo and unusual scale patterns enhance each other for an exciting finish to this concertina.

I OSKR I (1985) Wherry

Don Wherry has a wide range of experience in the field of percussion, the majority of which was concentrated in Toronto while playing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Since moving to Newfoundland in 1973 he has been performing regularly as principal percussionist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and has continued to explore his interest in new music with the group Fusion . Don presently teaches privately and for the Department of Music of Memorial Uni­versity. He is also the artistic director for the international event, Sound Symposium.

Fulcrum ( 1985) Morgan

This piece was written especially for this concert as a final project in the course Music 4101 (Composition).