Men and Angels

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Composer Name

Otto Henry

General Info

Year: 1973
Duration: c. 3:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Media
Cost: Score and Parts - $8.25   |   Score Only - $0.00

Instrumentation

Player I: Orchestra bells, snare drum, gong (vibes), maraca
Player II: Vibraphone, suspended cymbal (xylo), tambourine, gong
Player III: Bass drum, triangle, suspended cymbal, temple blocks
Player IV: Tubular chimes, timpani(3), temple blocks(5), almglocken(5), suspended cymbal
with soprano

Program Notes

Men and Angels, a short poem by Stephen Crane, the author of The Red Badge of Courage, poses the eternal argument between good and bad. “It was wrong to do this, said the angel...” “Not so, quoth the man...” Henry’s setting for soprano and 4 percussionists evokes the storm of this controversy and also the calm, rational and poignant resolution with strength and delicate colors. Written as a companion piece to The Sons of Martha (Media Press), Men and Angels is a very dramatic and thoughtful piece in which the percussion interacts with the soprano voice in a sensitive and colorful manner.

Review

Otto Henry's work "Men and Angels" for soprano and percussion quartet is a companion piece to one of his most popular percussion ensembles, "The Sons of Martha," also for soprano and percussion. The text is one of the several short epigrammatic poems by Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage. Henry evokes the storm of the controversy of the text as well as the calm, rational and poignant resolution with strength and delicate colors. While the score calls for four players to play a large variety of percussion instruments (bells, vibes, xylophone, timpani, chimes, cymbals, bass drum, almglocken, large gong, tambourine, maracas and temple blocks), additional players could be added to make the changes smoother. Otherwise, there are very tight switch-offs and instrument sharing that require careful calculating. The three-minute work opens with an introduction by the percussion marked quarter note = 72. The 23-measure introduction leads to a lighter-textured percussion accompaniment to the soprano solo at a new tempo of quarter note = 50. This 22-measure section climaxes with a dramatic subito forte followed by a nine-measure diminuendo that fades to the end. "Men and Angels" is a very dramatic work with percussion interacting with a soprano in a sensitive and colorful manner. - F. Michael Combs, June 2005

Recent Performances

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Works for Percussion by this Composer

Do Not Pass Go - Percussion Duo
Liberty Bell - Percussion Ensemble (10);With Tape
Men and Angels - Percussion Quartet; Voice
No Sound of Water - Percussion Ensemble (10)
Omnibus I - unspecified pitched instruments - Indeterminate
Omnibus II - Percussion Duo - Indeterminate
The Devil is a Woman Dancing - Marimba; Piano
The Sons of Martha - Percussion Quartet; Voice
Three Pieces for African Ensemble - Percussion Septet