DNA

Joan Tower

General Info

Year: 2003
Duration: c. 9:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: AMP
Cost: Score and Parts - $0.00   |   Score Only - $0.00

Instrumentation

Player I:
Player II:
Player III:
Player IV:
Player V:

Program Notes

Bradford and Dorothea Endicott commissioned the ten-minute work DNA for Frank Epstein and the NEC Percussion Ensemble.

The premiere performance took place on April 13, 2003 in Jordon Hall, at the New England Conservatory. Frank Epstein subsequently took the piece for performances to the Tanglewood Festival in July/August of 2003.

DNA is written for percussion quintet as a way of capitalizing on the notion of DNA, and its role as the building block of all biological life. Deoxyribonucleic acid, as we know it chemically, is an elegant form, made up of double helixes and double strands in an endless spiraling ribbon. Using this feature as a starting point - the piece is built around pairs of instruments which are featured prominently throughout: high-hats, castanets, timbales, and snares appear in duos — and like the base pairs of DNA — conspire to make a whole work.

The fifth percussionist is primarily a soloist, an outsider to the pairs — playing on temple blocks, tambourine and congas — until he joins them in passages of trios, quartets and quintets.

Joan uses the basic concept of DNA in teaching all the time, when she is urging her students to find the "DNA," or building blocks of an idea for themselves.

DNA is dedicated to Frank Epstein, who is a percussionist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Review

Opening the disc in a wave of vibrant energy, Joan Tower’s DNA is high on impact
David Denton, David's Review Corner,01/06/2011

Joan Tower’s DNA begins with silence, progresses to rhythms on bells and the symbol, and then adds wood blocks for timbre. The wood blocks present what could almost be called a theme, with a pentatonic-sounding pattern. Tower certainly has a good sense of timbre in her orchestration for percussion, perhaps the result of her having lived in South America as a child. This is a visceral piece, one in which the listener can truly feel the rhythms.
V. Vasan, Allmusic.com,01/06/2011

...a tightly choreographed, texturally engaging work for percussion quintet
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times,09/05/2011

Tower's love for sheer sound is further evident in DNA, in which five percussionists share delicate and thunderous patterns by brushing, tapping and striking an assortment of instruments. What results is no bangfest but a varied unfolding of glistening sonorities and rhythmic complexities.
Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer,01/01/0001

Recent Performances

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Works for Percussion by this Composer

Marimba Solo Works

Agape - Marimba
A Glimpse of Life - Marimba
Autumn - Marimba
A Wind Sketch - Marimba
Dawn - Marimba
Faith - Marimba
Halley's Comet - Marimba
Juengel Dance - Marimba
Lemniscate “8 is strength” - Marimba
Of the Moon - Marimba
Pantocrator - Marimba
Release (Moore) - Marimba
Redemption - Marimba
The Piece that Passes All Understanding - Marimba

Vibraphone Solo Works

A Day in the Studio
Eclipse (Moore)
No wind, no rain, just a subtle mist

Glockenspiel Solo Work

Five Pieces for Solo Glockenspiel

Crotales Solo Works

Visible Light
Wavelengths

Timpani Solo Works

Parable
Thunder
Treading Lightly

Snare Drum Solo

Acharya - Concert Snare Drum
iDrum - Marching Snare Drum
juNO (rudimental) - Concert Snare Drum
Platform - Concert Snare Drum
Quit - Concert Snare Drum

Auxiliary Percussion Solo

3 drums - Congas
Fuse - Cowbell
Ritual - Tambourine
Thick Skin - Djembe

Multiple Percussion Solo Works

Bound
Epoch
Kindled Fire
Pulsar
Sill Waters Run Deep
Until the Wind Changes

Percussion Concerto Works

Concerto No. 1 for Marimba and Orchestra - Marimba, Orchestra
Cucuy - Snare Drum, Percussion Ensemble
Fede di Volare (Faith to Fly) - Marimba, Percussion Trio
Landscapes (Moore) - Timpani, Percussion Ensemble
Primary Source - Marimba, Percussion Sextet
Unchained - Marimba, Percussion Trio
Unforeseen Problems - Marimba, Percussion Trio

Percussion Ensembles Works

Above the Clouds - Percussion Ensemble (12)
Apex - Percussion Duo
Barbaric Passages - Percussion Duo
Bon Temps - Percussion Quartet
Burning Coal - Percussion ensemble (8-12)
Dark Matter - Percussion Quartet
Denkyem - Percussion Sextet
Dimension 5 - Percussion Duo
Entourage - Percussion Quartet
Geaux - Percussion Duo, Snare drum + timpani
Genesis - Percussion Octet
Halo (Moore) - Percussion Trio
Mosaic - Percussion Quintet
Northeastern Relic - Percussion Nonet
Nova - Percussion Ensemble (10)
Ojo' (evil eye) - Percussion Quintet
Omojo - Percussion Duo
Projection - Percussion Ensemble (12)
Seconds Away - Marimba, Percussion Duo
Secrets We Keep - Percussion Duo
Spiritual Gifts - Percussion Quartet
Strobes - Percussion Quartet
Sweet Bread - beginning level percussion ensemble
Tempered Glass - Percussion Quintet
with liberty... - Percussion (14)

Mallet Ensemble Works

Celestial Bodies - Marimba Quartet
Leoce - Marimba Duo
Luna - Marimba & Vibes
Marimba Quartet - Marimba Quartet
Pattern Music (Moore) - Marimba Duo
Purple Mist - Marimba & Vibes
Quartz Mountain

Percussion With Other Instruments

Astronomically Speaking - Alto Saxophone, Multiple Percussion
A yearning - Horn, Marimba
Bad Vibes - Bb trumpet, Vibraphone
Beijos - Violin, Multiple Percussion
Celestial Dreams - Multiple Percussion, w/tape
Chant - Marimba + tabla
Constellations - Alto Flute, Marimba
Even - keel - Horn, Multiple Percussion
Space Grey - Electric Guitar, Vibraphone
The Colour Suite - Violin, Multiple Percussion
The Jackal’s Wedding - Alto Saxophone, Multiple Percussion
Wooden Alloy - Trumpet, Percussion Duo