SPRING SUNRISE
Back in 2009, my friend Ben Gazaway told me about sketches for a piece that he had written back when he was in college. When he played it for me, I thought it was wonderful and I told him that the music would be fantastic as a short overture for percussion ensemble. He agreed, and let me arrange it for him - the result is Spring Sunrise.
Imagine that you are awake in the morning and are sitting on a porch, witnessing the sun coming up over a beautiful body of water. The air is crisp and cool, the colors of nature have interwoven into perfect balance, and you hear sounds of animals greeting each other for the day, while waves of the lake are cascading in to shore. Everything seems perfect and in perfect harmony as you sip your coffee (or beverage of your choice), and you realize that you are just happy to be alive.
That is the inspiration for Spring Sunrise. This short overture for percussion ensemble is a great way to express this scene and bring these images to life, both for the performers and everyone who has the opportunity to hear it!
The piece calls for 10 players: 3 Marimbas, 2 Vibraphones, Glockenspiel, Timpani and 3 Percussion. All of the percussion instruments may be shared by the 3 players.
(note: the audio file was created using Virtual Drumline software.)
Imagine that you are awake in the morning and are sitting on a porch, witnessing the sun coming up over a beautiful body of water. The air is crisp and cool, the colors of nature have interwoven into perfect balance, and you hear sounds of animals greeting each other for the day, while waves of the lake are cascading in to shore. Everything seems perfect and in perfect harmony as you sip your coffee (or beverage of your choice), and you realize that you are just happy to be alive.
That is the inspiration for Spring Sunrise. This short overture for percussion ensemble is a great way to express this scene and bring these images to life, both for the performers and everyone who has the opportunity to hear it!
The piece calls for 10 players: 3 Marimbas, 2 Vibraphones, Glockenspiel, Timpani and 3 Percussion. All of the percussion instruments may be shared by the 3 players.
(note: the audio file was created using Virtual Drumline software.)
MAPLE LEAF RAG
I completed this arrangement back in 2004 for fun, and decided to bring it back for 2020. Scott Joplin's most well known composition, originally published in 1899, has been arranged for Solo Xylophone and 3 Marimbas. While much of the original material was retained, some additional licks were written in to show off the virtuosity of the Xylophonist performing the work!
A fun, show-off piece for the advanced percussionist!
(note: the audio file was created using Virtual Drumline software.)
A fun, show-off piece for the advanced percussionist!
(note: the audio file was created using Virtual Drumline software.)
ERLKONIG
Erlkönig, also called Erl-King or Elf-King, is a song setting by Franz Schubert, written in 1815 and based on a 1782 poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “Erlkönig” is considered by many to be one of the greatest ballads ever penned. Schubert wrote the song for two performers, a singer and a pianist, and it packs a remarkable amount of tension and drama into a mere four minutes. Its effectiveness is more impressive because Schubert was only 18 years old when he composed it.
Goethe’s poem tells the story of a boy riding home on horseback in his father’s arms. He is frightened when he is courted by the Erl- King, a powerful and creepy supernatural being. However, the boy’s father cannot see or hear the creature and tells the boy that his imagination is playing tricks on him. The boy grows increasingly terrified by what he hears from the Erl-King, but his father tells him that the things he thinks he sees and hears are only the sights and sounds of nature on a dark and stormy night. When the Erl-King eventually seizes the boy, the father spurs on his horse, but when he arrives home, his son is dead.1
This arrangement for percussion ensemble utilizes a total of four winds and nine percussionists. There are seven marimba parts, a timpani part, and a percussion part, with the marimba 1 part also having a brief interlude on the vibraphone. Marimbas 3, 4, and 5 also have a quick roll on a suspended cymbal. A total of four marimbas (including one 5-octave), one vibraphone, 4 timpani, 4 suspended cymbals, and a triangle are all needed for this arrangement.
In addition, there are 4 wind parts, with each of them representing a character in Goethe’s poem:
Goethe’s poem tells the story of a boy riding home on horseback in his father’s arms. He is frightened when he is courted by the Erl- King, a powerful and creepy supernatural being. However, the boy’s father cannot see or hear the creature and tells the boy that his imagination is playing tricks on him. The boy grows increasingly terrified by what he hears from the Erl-King, but his father tells him that the things he thinks he sees and hears are only the sights and sounds of nature on a dark and stormy night. When the Erl-King eventually seizes the boy, the father spurs on his horse, but when he arrives home, his son is dead.1
This arrangement for percussion ensemble utilizes a total of four winds and nine percussionists. There are seven marimba parts, a timpani part, and a percussion part, with the marimba 1 part also having a brief interlude on the vibraphone. Marimbas 3, 4, and 5 also have a quick roll on a suspended cymbal. A total of four marimbas (including one 5-octave), one vibraphone, 4 timpani, 4 suspended cymbals, and a triangle are all needed for this arrangement.
In addition, there are 4 wind parts, with each of them representing a character in Goethe’s poem:
- Bb Clarinet - the boy
- Bassoon - the narrator
- Alto Saxophone - Erlkönig
- Trombone - the father
Note: Marimbas 1 & 7, 2 & 3, and 4 & 6 each share an instrument, with Marimba 5 being by themselves.