Roberts-Last Day of Pompeii, The(SP)

The Last Day of Pompeii by Bruce Roberts primarily uses seven percussionists which represent the seven city gates that surround the two-mile circumference of the city. The addition of two additional performers, contrabassoon and bass clarinet, assist the piece in a programmatic fashion representing Mt. Vesuvius. The final total of nine performers represents the nine regions in which the city was divided. The piece is composed of four major sections: The Dawn of the Blacksmiths, The Festival of Dionysus, The Judgement of Vesuvius, and Reconciliation.

Difficulty - Medium
Number of players - 9

INSTRUMENTATION
Clarinet (Bb soprano clarinet, bass clarinet, plastic maracas, celeste)

Contrabassoon (wood shell maracas)

Percussion 1 (marimba, bells, crotales, bass drum, water filled crystal glass)

Percussion 2 (marimba, crotales, bass drum, cymbal, water filled crystal glass, toms, 3 almglocken)

Percussion 3 (marimba, crotales, chimes, bass drum)

Percussion 4 (marimba, vibraphone, crotales, chimes, bass drum, celeste)

Percussion 5 (small tam-tam, triangle, oxygen tank, glass/bamboo wind chimes, crotales, flexatone, tuned cup gongs, Chinese cymbal, 2 thin cymbals, Turkish sizzle cymbal)

Percussion 6 (large tam-tam, triangle, oxygen tank, glass wind chimes, crotales, Chinese cymbal, 2 thin cymbals, Turkish sizzle cymbal)

Percussion 7 (timpani, metal wind chimes, Korean gong or similar, lion's roar)