The Persistence of Memory
General Info
Year of Published: 2010
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Difficulty: Advanced
Duration: 00:08:30
Cost: 24.00
Instrumentation
Percussion 1: Ocean Drum & Wind Chimes & Piccolo Snare Drum & Bongos & Woodblocks & Hi hat & China Cymbal & Sizzle Cymbal
Percussion 2: Ratchet & Kick drum & Snare Drum & Log Drum & Opera Gong & Splash Cymbal & FX cymbal & Sizzle Cymbal & China Cymbal
Percussion 3: Rainstick & Bass Drum & 4 Concert Tom Toms & Woodblocks & Triangle & thai gong & China Cymbal
Program Notes
The Persistence of Memory is based on the well known Salvador Dali painting of the same name. The painting, which features Dali's famous "melting clocks" is one of the definitive works of the Surrealist Movement in art. It evokes a number of themes that lend themselves will to the music, especially the atrophy of time and shape. Time, pitch, and timbre all "melt" and re-form throughout the piece.
The first part (Dreamscapes) depicts the ocean and mountain landscape and employs water triangle and echo chimes to create a dropping, bending, "Doppler" effect with pitches. The clocks are represented somewhat overtly by woodblocks, which persist in a tic-toc fashion through much of the piece. The second section (Gears) is inspired primarily by the war like ants that are attacking a clock in the painting, suggesting anxiety and the unrelenting nature of time, hence the fast tempo and asymmetric meters. The final section (Melting Clocks) features cacophonous, polyphonic woodblock passages and the further decay of pitch, time, and previous motives. Throughout the piece, rhythms and sounds that first appear to be solid become amorphous, deformed, or completely liquid. The overall effect is reminiscent of a half remembered dream, a feeling that you've been immersed in a world only vaguely resembling reality.
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Solo
...ascends the sky - Marimba
Apocalyptic Etude - Marimba
Small Ensemble
Amorphous Solid
Archipelagos - Percussion Septet
Ascends the Sky
DisArchitecture - Percussion Quartet
Escape Velocity - Percussion Quartet
Entropy Variations - Percussion Octet
Innerludes
Pyroclastic Steam - Percussion Septet
res(pi)t - Percussion Septet
Skylight - Percussion Duet
The Persistence of Memory - Percussion Trio
Tilted Spheres - Percussion Quintet
Large Ensemble
Doors - Percussion 13
Liminality - Percussion 12
Slide - Percussion 16
Surfacing - Percussion 13