Vocalise (2008), for baritone instrument and percussion
Duration: 6:00
Instrumentation: baritone instrument (bass clarinet, bassoon, trombone, cello, etc.), percussion (two players: bell tree, mark tree, large china cymbal, thai gong (A-flat), maracas, large rain stick, pod rattle, wooden wind chimes, bamboo wind chimes, two chinese toms, bass drum)
Shortly after rehearsals began for my brass quintet, Top Five, the trombonist of that group, Achilles Liarmakopoulos, asked me if I could provide him a piece for his recital. I had never written for solo trombone, nor had I written anything that would have been suitable to arrange for the occasion. Not wanting to pass on a friendly request for music, I decided that I would have to write something new. I quickly hit upon the idea of balancing the trombone with percussion. My first instinct was that two of the loudest instruments would make a good combination, and I set about making plans for a boisterous fanfare-type piece. This first idea soon proved fruitless, so I began to cast about for ideas by improvising on my cello. I began spinning a long, melancholy line, filling it with sighing pauses and expressive chromatic twists. I fashioned the line, and then used exotic percussion to create a textural bed of support. As I originally conceived the line as an improvisation, I wanted the performer to have incredible flexibility to realize it. Dynamics and phrasing are free, and the percussionists are instructed to craft their performance to support the soloist’s decisions.
The solo “vocalise” line may be performed on any sustaining instrument capable of playing the notes in the proper range. These include the cello, bassoon, horn, bass clarinet, baritone sax, double bass, and many others. With different instruments come novel combinations of timbre, phrasing and balance, and it is my hope that the piece is performed by as many different instruments as possible.
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First Performance: October 23rd, 2008
Sudler Recital Hall, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Achilles Liarmakopoulos, trombone; Lia DeRoin and John Corkill, percussion
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Recording: New Music New Haven, December 16th, 2008
Morse Recital Hall, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Scott Switzer, bassoon; Lia DeRoin and John Corkill, percussion