Rattle the Cage
General Info
Year: 2016
Publisher: Tapspace
Difficulty: Advanced
Duration: 00:13:00
Cost: $48.00
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel & Chimes & Sleigh Bells
Player 2: Xylophone & Suspended Cymbal & Sleigh Bells
Player 3: Vibraphone
Player 4: Vibraphone & Suspended Cymbal
Player 5: Marimba
Player 6: Marimba
Player 7: Marimba
Player 8: Concert Bass Drum
Program Notes
My recent compositions have focused on exploring elements of timbre and texture and Rattle the Cage is no different. With this in mind, I made the conscious effort not to ignore familiar musical components such as melody, functional harmony, rhythm, groove, and counterpoint. When I was approached by Dan Armstrong to write a work for keyboard percussion ensemble, I immediately had ideas of exploring these typical instruments through the use of extended techniques and varied implements as well as supplementing their palette with a small collection of non-pitched percussion instruments. After much experimenting, I decided on utilizing 3 marimbas, 2 vibraphones, xylophone, glockenspiel, and chimes mixed with a collection of non-pitched bells, siren, cymbals, brake drum, and bass drum (7-8 players total).
Rattle the Cage is not a program piece - it is instead an abstract exploration of the musical elements mentioned above (most notably timbre and texture). The bulk of the piece is rooted in the (0,1,4) pitch set (for example A, B♭, D♭), which provides much of the “germ" material, which is then developed and elaborated into something more complex. The title is taken from the sounds evoked throughout the composition.
Recent Performance
<embedvideo service="youtube"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvqgVMPNTaE </embedvideo>
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Mallet Solo
Afternoon in March - Marimba
Caleidoscópio - Marimba
Memento - Marimba
Punchline
Prelude Nuevo
Variations (after Viñao) - Marimba
Snare Drum Solo
Homage to Carter
Swerve
Tom-Tom for Tom
Multiple Percussion Solo
Captions
Echo Song
Farewell
SyNc
Solo with Ensemble
BeyonD the bEnd - Multiple Percussion, Percussion Quintet
Concerto for Marimba and Choir with Percussion - Marimba; Percussion Trio; Choir
Jing Fling - Jing Cymbal; Percussion Sextet (Optional)
Prelude Nuevo - Marimba
Percussion Duo
And So the Wind Blew...
As One
Ceci N'est Pas Un Jouet
Impressions of Chinese Opera
Long Exposure
Ingrained
Sammy's Scales
Song and Dance
Together & Not
Whiz-Bang
Chamber Ensemble
BeyonD the bEnd
BOOMeRANG - 4 Players
Circuit Breaker - Percussion Sextet
Quench - Percussion Quartet
Ragtime Collection - Marimba Quartet
Rattle the Cage - Mallet Ensemble
Stir Crazy - Percussion Quartet
Streamline - Percussion Ensemble - (Hand Drums)
The Electric City - Percussion Trio
Works with Other Instruments
Free Spins - Percussion Duo; Bass Clarinet
Get It! - Multiple Percussion; Bassoon
Killjoy - Multiple Percussion; Guitar
Sky Songs - Multiple Percussion; Voice
soniChroma - Percussion Duo; Orchestra