Eagle-Place for Everything, A (Perc. quartet version) (SP)-4T/P

The title is inspired by the phrase, "A place for everything and everything in its place," which is credited to the liberal Scottish author and reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812-1904). This advanced work of fused drumming embodies the phrase as it makes use of different facets of rudimental drumming and styles including Scottish, Breton, Swiss Basel, Orchestral, American Fife & Drum, and contemporary American. Stated by composer Michael Eagle, "While the 21st Century percussionist is increasingly expected to learn more and more, these various rudimental languages can and should have a place in our individual pursuits." Originally composed for The Ruff Drags Drum Corps, a fusion-style performance group created by the composer, featuring Scottish snare drums, 5 Scottish Tenor Drums, a Scottish Bass Drum and an American Fife & Drum Rudimental Bass Drum. The piece is also arranged for percussion quartet and can be performed with conventional orchestral instrumentation or found instruments. Performers are required to have a firm knowledge base of the aforementioned styles to appropriate each segment. Compositionally, the piece is developed from the group's namesake, a Ruff and a Drag, two rudiments used in nearly all styles of drumming. Structurally, the five segments are: an introductory March; a Breton dance, Ronds de Loudeac; a 6/8 half-time shuffle; a Scottish 'tap-buzz' groove with visual features; a Swiss Basel Rigodon (or Tagwacht); and a flourish of contemporary American drumming. This piece was premiered at the 2014 Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) as part of a featured presentation by the composer and performed by the Ruff Drags Drum Corps.

Number of players: 4
Difficulty: Advanced

Instrumentation

Player 1: Piccolo snare drum, medium concert snare drum, 2 bongos/2congas shared with player 2
Player 2: concert snare drum, 4 concert toms, 2 bongos/2congas shared with player 1, pedal bass drum shared with player 3
Player 3: Field snare drum, pedal bass drum shared with player 2, concert bass drum shared with player 4
Player 4: 4 timpani, rope tension snare drum, large crash cymbals, concert bass drum shared with player 3