Cucuy
General Info
Year of Published:
Publisher:
Duration: 00:07:26
Cost:
Instrumentation
Soloist
Ensemble
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Vibraphone
Marimba
Tubular Bells
Crotales
Timpani
Program Notes
El “cucuy,” in Mexican folklore is a name invoked by mothers to keep their sons and daughters from misbehaving. For children, cucuy is their worst nightmare; the boogeyman. It is this folklore that is the sole inspiration of this piece of music. My aim was to take the audience on a musical journey through a familiar bedtime lullaby with a dark twist; falling asleep, nightmares, the phenomena of waking up inside of your dream, and the realization that you are still dreaming, all while being haunted by the cucuy. I included three lines of spoken text, each in Spanish, to help guide the musical story; “el cucuy se acerca” - the cucuy is coming, “¡Está aquí, el cucuy está aquí!” - he's here, the cucuy is here!, and “el cucuy vendrá por ti” - the cucuy will come for you. The final line of text reminding us all to mind our manners. The “Cucuy” is represented in the piece by a recurring theme passed from instrument to instrument and is personified by the snare drum soloist. I had the absolute pleasure of working with Roger Carter who composed a fantastic solo snare drum part and will be performing it with the 2019 Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition winners, Roma High School Percussion Ensemble directed by Moses Simon.
Recent Performance
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Solo Works
3 drums (congas)
A Day in the Studio (vibraphone)
Agape (IP) (marimba)
A Glimpse of Life (marimba)
Autumn (marimba)
A Wind Sketch (marimba)
Bound (multi-percussion)
Celestial Dreams (IP) (multi-percussion w/tape)
Chant (marimba + tabla)
Dawn (marimba)
Eclipse (vibraphone)
Epoch (multi-percussion)
Faith (marimba)
Five Pieces for Solo Glockenspiel
Finding Meaning (vibraphone)
Fuse (cowbell)
Halley's Comet (marimba)
iDrum (marching snare drum)
juNO (rudimental snare drum)
Kindled Fire (multi-percussion)
Lemniscate “8 is strength” (marimba)
No wind, no rain, just a subtle mist. (vibraphone)
Of the Moon (marimba)
Pantocrator (marimba)
Parable (timpani)
Platform (snare drum)
Pulsar (multi-percussion)
Release (marimba)
Redemption (marimba)
Reveries (marimba)
Ritual (tambourine)
Still Waters Run Deep (multi-percussion)
The Piece that Passes All Understanding (marimba)
Thick Skin (djembe)
Thunder (timpani)
Treading Lightly (timpani)
Visible Light (crotales)
Wavelengths (crotales)
Duets
Apex (two percussionists)
Astronomically Speaking (alto saxophone + percussion)
A yearning (horn + marimba)
Bad Vibes (Bb trumpet + vibraphone)
Beijos (violin + percussion)
Barbaric Passages (two percussionists)
Constellations (alto flute + marimba)
Dimension 5 (two percussionists)
Even - keel (horn + percussion)
Geaux (snare drum + timpani)
Leoce (IP) (two marimbas)
Luna (IP) (marimba + vibes)
Omojo (two percussionists)
Pattern Music ( marimbas)
Purple Mist (IP) (marimba & vibes)
Sapphire (flute + Bb clarinet)
Secrets We Keep (2 percussionists)
Space Grey (electric guitar + vibraphone)
The Colour Suite (IP) (violin + percussion)
The Jackal’s Wedding (saxophone + percussion)
Percussion Ensembles
Above the Clouds (percussion ensemble 12 players)
At a Distance (percussion ensemble 4+ players)
Bon Temps (percussion quartet)
Burning Coal (percussion ensemble 8-12 players)
Celestial Bodies (marimba quartet)
Crescent (percussion quintet)
Dark Matter (IP) (percussion quartet)
Denkyem (percussion ensemble 6 players)
Entourage (percussion quartet)
Genesis (percussion ensemble 8 players)
Halo (percussion trio)
Marimba Quartet (IP)
Mosaic (IP) (percussion quintet)
Northeastern Relic (IP) (percussion ensemble 9 players)
Nova (percussion ensemble 10 players)
Sweet Bread (beginning level percussion ensemble)
Projection (percussion ensemble 13 players)
Spiritual Gifts (percussion quartet)
Strobes (percussion quartet)
Tempered Glass (percussion quintet)
with liberty... (percussion ensemble 14+ players)
Chamber Works
Trio for flute, clarinet and Bells (originally titled Newton's Laws)
Wooden Alloy (trumpet + two percussionists)
Concerto
Concerto No. 1 for Marimba and Orchestra(IP)
Cucuy (percussion ensemble with solo snare drum)
Fede di Volare (Faith to Fly) (marimba w/percussion trio)
Landscapes (IP) (solo timpani w/percussion ensemble)
Primary Source (solo marimba w/percussion sextet)
Seconds Away (solo marimba w/percussion duo)
Unchained (solo marimba w/percussion trio)
Unforeseen Problems (solo marimba w/percussion trio)