Year
1994
Duration
12'
Instrumentation
violin, bassoon, electronic keyboard, electric guitar, electronic mallet percussion, electronic drum set
×
Explanation of the instrumentation string
Abbreviation |
Instrument |
Guitar(s) and other plucked instruments |
|
bal |
balalaika |
bgtr |
bass guitar |
bjo |
banjo |
egtr |
electric guitar |
gtr |
guitar |
gtr (ampl.) |
amplified guitar |
hrp |
harp |
mand |
mandolin |
uke |
ukulele |
Woodwinds |
|
afl |
alto flute |
asax |
alto saxophone |
barsax |
baritone saxophone |
bcl |
bass clarinet |
bsax |
bass saxophone |
bsthn |
basset horn |
cl |
clarinet |
corA |
cor anglais |
dbcl |
contrabass clarinet (or double bass clarinet) |
dbn |
contrabassoon (or double bassoon) |
Ebcl |
E-flat clarinet |
fl |
flute |
heck |
heckelphone |
ob |
oboe |
obda |
oboe d'amore |
picc |
piccolo |
rec |
recorder |
sarrus |
sarrusophone |
sax |
saxophone |
ssax |
soprano saxophone |
tsax |
tenor saxophone |
Brass |
|
bgl |
bugle |
btrbn |
bass trombone |
crt |
cornet |
euph |
euphonium |
flghn |
fluegel horn |
hn |
horn |
picctpt |
piccolo trumpet |
tpt |
trumpet |
trbn |
trombone |
tba |
tuba |
Wtba |
Wagner tuba |
Percussion |
|
cim |
cimbalom |
drkit |
drum kit |
glsp |
glockenspiel |
mba |
marimba |
perc |
percussion |
tamb |
tambourine |
timp |
timpani |
vib |
vibraphone |
xyl |
xylophone |
Keyboards |
|
cel |
celesta |
eorg |
electric organ |
epft |
electric piano |
harm |
harmonium |
Horg |
Hammond organ |
hpsd |
harpsichord |
kybd |
keyboard |
org |
organ |
pft |
piano |
prep pft |
prepared piano |
synth |
synthesizer |
Strings |
|
db |
double bass (or contra bass) |
evln |
electric violin |
strgs |
strings |
vla |
viola |
vlada |
viola d'amore |
vlc |
violoncello |
vln |
violin |
Vocal |
|
A |
(Contr)alto |
B |
Bass |
Bar |
baritone |
MS |
mezzo-soprano |
S |
soprano |
T |
tenor |
Other |
|
acc |
accordion |
ocar |
ocarina |
oM |
Ondes Martinot |
Explanation
The standard, accepted order of instrumentation for large ensembles: fl.ob.cl.bsn - hn.tpt.trbn.tba - perc - other - vlnI.vlnII.vla.vlc.db - tape, or electronics. Saxophones appear between clarinet and bassoon.
All other scorings (less than 8 instruments) are listed in full.
When an instrument is listed in parentheses, then this instrument is doubled. "guitar (=electric guitar)" means that the guitarist plays an acoustic, as well as an electric guitar. In an orchestral setting, "1(I=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=bcl).1" would resolve to: 1 flute (also playing piccolo), 2 oboes (second oboe also playing cor anglais), 2 clarinets (second clarinet also playing bass clarinet), 1 bassoon. If there is an extra instrument, which is not doubled, then this is expressly written out, e.g. "1(I=picc).2.corA.2.bcl.1.dbn", which unravels to: 1 flute (also playing piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 1 bassoon, 1 double bassoon.
Solo instruments in a concerto or chamber setting are written out in front of the ensemble instruments: guitar - 1.1.1.1 - 1.0.0.0 - perc - strgs.
|
Genre
Chamber Music
Commission
Meet the Composer
Premiere
Chicago, 1994: Paul Dresher Ensemble
Source
composer website; Paul Dresher Ensemble website
Details
"The work was originally composed as part of the Ensemble's touring program "Looking West to the East," a program which examined the variety of ways American (particularly West Coast) composers have been influenced by the cultures of the "Far East." While the aggressive surface of the composition seems to make the work resist an easy assimilation into the Asian-influenced context of this program, in fact the modal and harmonic language of the piece is an exploration of a particular mode I encountered in my studies of North Indian classical music. For those with an analytical bent, mode contains 7 tones and utilizes flatted 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees, a sharped 4th degree and a natural 5th. What intrigues me about the way the North Indians use this scale is that by de-emphasizing the 5th degree, the whole sense of tonal center seems to shift to either the flat 6th or 2nd degree, even while maintaining a constant "tonic" drone. I am not trying to evoke the particular "rasa" (roughly something like color or mood) associated with this family of ragas. I would no doubt do this poorly in comparison. Rather I am simply exploring a phenomena which probably only manifests itself to listeners so trained to seek tonal centers based on the interval of a perfect 5th. When I asked my sitar teacher Nikhil Banerjee, who spoke perfect English, about this apparent (to me) shifting phenomena, he simply did not understand what I was talking about, much less hearing."
- Paul Dresher (from: Dresher Ensemble website)