|
Latin percussion performance and Medieval composition techniques are combined in Talea. The piece is named for a repeated figure characteristic of the Ars Nova isorhythmic motet. This figure was combined with an independently repeated pitch succession called a color. The result is a musical pattern in which pitch and rhythmic repetition coincide only periodically. Originally conceived as part of a larger multi-movement composition, Talea is based on several simultaneous isorhythmic patterns. The color of each line is based on indefinitely-pitched percussion sounds rather than actual pitches. The piece is in 5/4 meter throughout. The triangle opens with a steady eighth-note pattern consisting of a regular succession of open and muffled strokes. The cowbell, conga, and woodblock enter in a pattern of quarter notes that forms a three-against-four-against-five cross-rhythm. The claves, bongos, temple blocks, and tom-toms play repeated patterns that repeat every three, seven, eleven, and thirteen beats, respectively. Although Talea is scored as a sextet, additional players may be added to any and all parts and it may be used for study, performance, or both.
Number of Players: 6
Difficulty: Grade 4
Instrumentation:
Player II: Temple Block
Player III: 4 Tom-Toms
Player IV: Conga, Bongos
Player V: Triangle
Player VI: Large Cowbell
Daniel Adams was born in Miami Florida in 1956. He is currently a Professor of Music and Chair of the Faculty Senate at Texas Southern University. He has previously held teaching positions at the University of Miami and Miami-Dade Community College. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (1985) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music (1981) from the University of Miami, and a Bachelor of Music (1978) from Louisiana State University. Adams is the composer of numerous published and unpublished musical compositions and the author of several articles and reviews on 20th. Century percussion music, music pedagogy, and the music of Texas. He is also the author of The Solo Snare Drum: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Compositional Techniques, a book published in 2000 by Honey Rock Music. He has received awards and honors from ASCAP, the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Percussive Arts Society, and the Greater Miami Youth Symphony. His music is recorded on Capstone Records and Summit Records.
|
