Premiered by Hamiruge Percussion Ensemble, March 25, 2019, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA.
Four Modes was inspired by/for Brett Dietz and Hamiruge, specifically from their performances last summer at New Music on the Bayou Festival. One common characteristic to the pieces they performed was space and timbre. Daunted by writing for percussion ensemble, this realization opened up many ideas for me, particularly in the realm of texture and process. Momentum and energy motivate the piece. In Four Modes: impetUS, the drum set functions as a trigger point between woods and metals. I used Pauline Oliveros’ “Four Modes of Thought” (based on Jung’s Memories, Dreams and Reflections) as a sectional guideline:
A. Sensation (present): trigger sounds like clockwork, from player 1 all around to player 5
B. Intuition (knowing, in the future): Trigger walls of sounds: player 1+2 (metals) and 3+4 (woods) back and forth
C. Feeling (past experience): out of order, muted, timeless
D. Thinking (all of the above, bring together using multiple tempo streams)
About personal momentum, as well as a mirror US politics of late, enjoy Four Modes!
Instrument List
Player 1: chimes, vibraphone 1, thai gongs
Player 2: glockenspiel, crotales, vibraphone 2, triangle
Player 3: drum set with kick drum, large bass drum
Player 4: marimba 1, temple blocks (5 small to large), wood blocks (one large and one small)
Player 5: xylophone, marimba 2, claves Stage Set-Up
Players 1 and 2 should be positioned on stage right. Player 3 should be positioned in the center of the stage so as to create “trigger” points. Players 4 and 5 should be positioned stage left.
Duration: approximately 9 minutes