BeyonD the bEnd

Gene Koshinski

General Info

Year: 2021
Duration: c.
Difficulty: Professional
Publisher: Title Publisher
Commission: Ju Percussion Group
Cost: Score and Parts - $0.00   |   Score Only - $0.00

Instrumentation

Soloist: Large Singing Bowl (C#4), Glass Wind Chimes, Talking Drum, 3 Roto-Toms, Large Pair of Chinese Cymbals (on hi-hat stand), Small concert Bass Drum (muted), 3 Chinese Tom-toms, Log Drum, LP Vibra-Tone (C5)
Percussion 1: Voice, Crotale (Bb, high octave), Water container, Chime (Bb), Vibraphone
Percussion 2: Voice, Crotale (Ab, high octave), Water container, Chime (Ab), Bow, Marimba (5.0 octave)
Percussion 3: Voice, Crotale (Gb, high octave), Water container, Chime (Gb), Bow, Wind Chimes, Large Metal Slide Whistle, Marimba (4.3 octave)
Percussion 4: Voice, Crotale (Eb, high octave), Water container, Chime (Eb), Bow, Suspended Cymbal (18” or similar), Glockenspiel, Large Chinese Tom-tom

Program Notes

BeyonD the bEnd is scored for percussion soloist with percussion ensemble (1 + 4 players) and was commissioned by the Ju Percussion Group. In the opening of the work the ensemble sings, in unison, chant-like lines that present, simultaneously, both the sonic thematic material and the poetic reference the piece is hinged on. Musically, the piece is tied to a three-note motive of Bb, Db, and Eb (those letters highlighted in the title) that can be heard throughout, initially heard in the opening voices and thread through the ensemble for the duration of the piece. This theme refrains from developing, yet transforms throughout the work as it morphs ever so slightly into various rhythmic patterns and bends in and out of different timbres within the ensemble. Concurrently, the work is structured around a poetic theme, which is inspired by a short unfinished poem by Brandon Reid Swaim:

When You Bend (unfinished)
When you bend something
It will strike back and bend you
This is the relationship
Between society and nature

Bending is a constant musical and literal theme as the composition specifically calls for many instruments that bend pitches such as talking drum, roto toms, singing, whistling, slide whistle, vibra-tone, and bending the pitches of the crotales by dipping them in water as they are being bowed. Another usage of the poetic reference is how the soloist interacts with the ensemble and how that relationship changes over time.

Recent Performances

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Works for Percussion by this Composer

Afternoon in March - Marimba
And So the Wind Blew... - Percussion Duo
As One - Percussion Duo
BeyonD the bEnd - Multiple Percussion, Percussion Quintet
Caleidoscópio - Marimba
Capriccio for Viola Solo - Henri Vieuxtemps - Marimba
Ceci N'est Pas Un Jouet - Percussion Duo
Circuit Breaker - Percussion Sextet
Concerto for Marimba and Choir with Percussion - Marimba; Percussion Trio; Choir
Echo Song - Multiple Percussion; Percussion Duo (Soloist and Echo)
Get It! - Multiple Percussion; Bassoon
Homage to Carter - Snare Drum
Impressions of Chinese Opera - Percussion Duo
Prelude Nuevo - Marimba
Quench - Percussion Quartet
Ragtime Collection - Marimba Quartet
Rattle the Cage - Mallet Ensemble
Sammy's Scales - Percussion Duo
Sky Songs - Multiple Percussion; Voice
Song and Dance - Percussion Duo
soniChroma - Percussion Duo; Orchestra
Stir Crazy - Percussion Quartet
Streamline - Percussion Ensemble - (Hand Drums)
The Electric City - Percussion Trio
Together & Not - Percussion Duo - Marimba Duo
Two - A Collection of 10 Concert Pieces for Two-Mallet Marimba Solo - Marimba
Variations (after Viñao) - Marimba