The composition
consists of 64 sections, illustrating the complete interaction
stages of Yin and Yang elements as represented by the structures
of the 64 hexagrams. Two new elements, the human voice and
the wooden sound, as the by-products during the course of
Yin-Yang interaction, are introduced in the middle part of
the piece.
The six
players also represent the six hexagram lines. The changes
of their rhythmic structures and instruments are governed
by the changes of the hexagram structures during the Yin-Yang
interaction. The rhythmic ideas are primarily taken from
Ghana drumming and Chinese village festive drumming patterns.
Yiu-kwong Chung’s music, which has won large and enthusiastic
audiences all over the world, is distinguished by its profound
Chinese philosophical background and expressive range. Chung,
currently a professor of the National Taiwan University of
the Arts in Taipei, teaches composition and percussion.
Moving Moonlight
Atayal Tribe folk song
Arr. by Chien-Hui Hung
This piece originated from the Atayal Tribe folk song ‘watching
the moon’ in Taiwanese aborigines’ songbooks. Because the
beauty of rhythm, the composer specially arranged this piece
and tended to have it performed with four Marimbas representing
soft and wonderful sound, aiming to enrich this piece with
exquisiteness and touchiness.
The
Romping Golden Pheasants (Gong-Drum Music from Tu Jia
Tribe)
Arr.
by Tian LongXin / Li Zhengui
This piece is divided into five sections: "The Spring
in the Mountain," "Joyful Way Home," "Playing
along the Stream," "Encounter with Adversary,"
and "The Triumph." The Composer vividly depicts
Golden Pheasants playing around on their way home from the
mountain. The arrangers use the touba cymbal, erba cymbal,
and other Chinese percussion instruments to present the complicated
rhythm and diverse timbres.
Persona
Toshimitu Tanaka
Written
in1984 by one of Japan's great composers, this piece for marimba
solo and Japanese Ohtaiko, Persona, was composed in
the style of the Gosin Gyotaiko a musical tradition from Nigata
County in the Noto Peninsula, in which a number of performer
play the taiko simultaneously.
This
work creates a dramatic effect through the competition of
one group of roto tom-toms (marimba plays a leading role)
tuned to 12 different pitches with another group of masked
taiko drummers playing and shouting spontaneously.
Composing Persona marked the culmination of six years
of field research on Japanese folklore by Mr. Toshimitu Tanaka.
Resilience
Emmanuel Séjourné
The human nature is always fascinated and horrified
by the darkness. Everything is possible in darkness,
and everything looks different between darkness and brightness.
Everyone has his fantasy and fear in darkness. Also,
the vision and the audition have another perception
and dimension in darkness. This piece is composed for darkness, 8
percussionists, 16 lighters and other surprises. It's “visual
music” between music, theater, dance, and circus. I know
the quality of Ju Percussion Group members. They are not
only fantastic percussionists but also they have, and that
is very important, the sense of the show.
By Emmanuel Séjourné
José-beFORe JOHN 5
Aurél Holló
The basic idea of José came from the composer’s listening to
the recording Oriental Bass by the contrabass-player
Renaud Garcia-Fons. The composer was inspired to present Garcia-Fons’
Spanish style with Arabic and Gipsy effects in an original
percussion composition instead of an adaptation.
Besides Garcia-Fons’s recording, the composer also used a theme by
Paco de Lucia. Marimba has the lead through in this short
but stylish piece: two players standing face to face play
virtuosic complementary motives. Most of these figures are
based on the traditional xylophone music of Africa, yet the
scale is typically flamenco. These motives are enriched by
the other two players who make many interesting and exciting
sounds with the Spanish cajon or the favourite instrument
of Gipsy folk music, the simple sheet-iron can to name a few.
This piece is dedicated to the
composer’s friend, Josep Vicente, artistic leader of the Amsterdam
Percussion Group.
Head Talk
Mark Ford
This is a quintet for 13 drumheads with different sizes and
materials. Performers sitting on the floor carry different
mallets and adopt different striking techniques—hitting, turning,
rolling or tossing. The floor is used as part of the instruments.
The five players need to pay close attention to each other
to show the essence and fun of the music. This piece is published
by Innovative Percussion, Inc..
Dancing Rhythm
Hong-Chi Ho
Any object can be a form of percussion instrument as long
as sounds are created through beating and hitting. For example,
“Human body” is actually an excellent percussion instrument.
We can use mouths, hands, feet and other parts of bodies to
create various sounds easily. Music shows emotions of the
sounds, while dancing speaks for the body expressions. In
this piece, the performers use striking, clapping, stepping,
and padding to create wonderful rhythms and tempos, showing
how music flows from human bodies.
Children of Sanchez
Chuck Mangione /arr. by Brian Mason
This popular Chuck Mangione tune is a perfect fit for percussion
ensemble. The intro is a beautiful Chorale section, featuring
the mallet keyboards. The drumset introduces the feel for
the body of the tune, with a hypnotic drum cadence.
As the tune builds, there are mallet, hand percussion and
drumset solos, finishing with an exciting climax.
