For my second composition for 'three or more' instruments, I decided to write for eight instruments. This piece went through considerable development before reaching its finished state.
Initially I wanted to design an abstract work, with sparse texture that really showed off the timbre of each percussion instrument. I worked with this concept for some time, but found that by striving for an abstract sound, and trying to work with all eight instruments simultaneously, I was losing all signs of consistency and coherence in the piece. After much consideration I decided to scrap the original idea and try a new direction.
This time I wanted a solo instrument to take the lead in the main thematic material, then at suitable places I could explore instrumental timbre in a more controlled way. My solo instrument was initially a marching bass drum, but not entirely happy with the sound, eventually substituted it with the side drum, moving the marching bass drum to a subsidiary role.
I was also clear in my mind that I wanted this piece to be an opportunity to experiment with variable metre, and quickly decided on a 3/8 up to 6/8 (and back again) progression. Having never worked with or played variable metre before, this presented its own challenges, whereby I wanted a piece where you could clearly hear the variable metre at work, but also that there was a clear and discernible rhythm. My metre progression is in place all the way through the piece, except for a couple of areas where I wanted something different to shake things up.
At bar eight I decided to time was right to play with texture and timbre. I was inspired in particular by Beethoven's Symphony No.1, and Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique, where different instruments play each note of a melodic line, or a thematic fragment is passed in quick succession between different instruments. Between bars eight and nine I have a 'falling waterfall' effect, where for a brief moment each instrument is heard alone. I do have the tambourine continuing underneath in a simplified version, as I felt this kept the forward momentum going, and the sound wasn't as bare. For this section I temporarily put the variable metre on hold, and both bars are in 3/8 time, followed by a bar in 2/8. Variable metre then returns with the main theme.
All of the material up to bar 18 is then repeated, to firmly establish the main theme. I then introduce a solo passage for the side drum, a written out cadenza in 4/4 time lasting for four bars, eight including the repeat. Here I wanted to further reinforce the side drum as the primary instrument to the listener, and also have a break from the busy texture up til this point. Once the cadenza is finished, the main material returns, but as an ending instead of creating new material, I gradually drop the number of instruments playing, until the side drum has the final say, backed up with the marching bass drum. The overall dynamics in the piece have no gradation as I felt that once I had balanced the volume of the instruments at the beginning of the work, I wanted to keep the forward momentum going throughout, and that introducing gradation of tone in this particular work would disrupt this flow.
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