BeyonD the bEnd (2021)
Commissioned by the Ju Percussion Group
Soloist: Large Singing Bowl (C#4), Glass Wind Chimes, Talking Drum, 3 Roto Toms, Large Pair of Chinese Cymbals (on hi-hat stand), Small concert Bass Drum (muted), 3 Chinese Toms, Log Drum, LP Vibra-Tone (C5)
Percussion 1: Voice, Crotale (Bb, high octave), Water container, Chime (Bb), Vibraphone
Percussion 2: Voice, Crotale (Ab, high octave), Water container, Chime (Ab), Bow, Marimba (5.0 octave)
Percussion 3: Voice, Crotale (Gb, high octave), Water container, Chime (Gb), Bow, Wind Chimes, Large Metal Slide Whistle, Marimba (4.3 octave)
Percussion 4: Voice, Crotale (Eb, high octave), Water container, Chime (Eb), Bow, Suspended Cymbal (18” or similar), Glockenspiel, Large Chinese Tom (or concert BD - muted)
- Performed by Ju Percussion Group
Excerpts
BeyonD the bEnd is scored for percussion soloist with percussion ensemble (1 + 4 players) and was commissioned by the Ju Percussion Group. In the opening of the work the ensemble sings, in unison, chant-like lines that present, simultaneously, both the sonic thematic material and the poetic reference the piece is hinged on. Musically, the piece is tied to a three-note motive of Bb, Db, and Eb (those letters highlighted in the title) that can be heard throughout, initially heard in the opening voices and thread through the ensemble for the duration of the piece. This theme refrains from developing, yet transforms throughout the work as it morphs ever so slightly into various rhythmic patterns and bends in and out of different timbres within the ensemble. Concurrently, the work is structured around a poetic theme, which is inspired by a short unfinished poem by Brandon Reid Swaim:
When You Bend (unfinished)
When you bend something
It will strike back and bend you
This is the relationship
Between society and nature
Bending is a constant musical and literal theme as the composition specifically calls for many instruments that bend pitches such as talking drum, roto toms, singing, whistling, slide whistle, vibra-tone, and bending the pitches of the crotales by dipping them in water as they are being bowed. Another usage of the poetic reference is how the soloist interacts with the ensemble and how that relationship changes over time.