Description
This edition of Arrival Platform Hamlet uses a large instrumentation, with 14 musicians, including a strong pianist, a skilled harpist, a celesta player, and a solution for the use of staff bells.
The harp and celesta parts could be played on a synthesizer. Grainger on several occasions expressed support for the notion of substituting instruments, "so long as the balance of each of the lines is maintained," and was always interested in the latest technology (on the other hand, he also wrote an article called "The Stupidest of Stupid Abuses" decrying the tendency of some conductors to omit elements of his carefully considered orchestration, so there's that…).
The staff bells part presents a bit of a challenge. Crotales played with soft mallets (hard rubber) so as to emphasize the lower harmonics and suppress the upper harmonics are a decent substitute.
Having been intrigued with Grainger's staff bells for many years, and having researched the options, I found an incredibly realistic handbell "patch" available from Bolder Sounds in Boulder, Colorado (with which I have no relationship, other than to have bought and used the handbell "patch"). It includes samples of handbells played in a number of ways, including struck with a variety of mallets. So, with a laptop computer, a music application designed for use in live performance (like Apple's MainStage), a playback system and a MIDI controller, you can have your own virtual set of Percy Grainger's staff bells!
-Chalon L. Ragsdale
Number of players: 17
Difficulty: Intermediate/advanced
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Vibraphone 1
Player 3: Vibraphone 2
Player 4: Staff Bells (Handbells)
Player 5: Xylophone
Players 6-9: Marimba 1,2,3,4
Player 10: Harp
Player 11: Celesta
Player 12: Piano
Player 13: Snare drum
Player 14: Cymbals
Player 15: Gong
Player 16: Bass Drum
Player 17: 4 Timpani
The harp and celesta parts could be played on a synthesizer. Grainger on several occasions expressed support for the notion of substituting instruments, "so long as the balance of each of the lines is maintained," and was always interested in the latest technology (on the other hand, he also wrote an article called "The Stupidest of Stupid Abuses" decrying the tendency of some conductors to omit elements of his carefully considered orchestration, so there's that…).
The staff bells part presents a bit of a challenge. Crotales played with soft mallets (hard rubber) so as to emphasize the lower harmonics and suppress the upper harmonics are a decent substitute.
Having been intrigued with Grainger's staff bells for many years, and having researched the options, I found an incredibly realistic handbell "patch" available from Bolder Sounds in Boulder, Colorado (with which I have no relationship, other than to have bought and used the handbell "patch"). It includes samples of handbells played in a number of ways, including struck with a variety of mallets. So, with a laptop computer, a music application designed for use in live performance (like Apple's MainStage), a playback system and a MIDI controller, you can have your own virtual set of Percy Grainger's staff bells!
-Chalon L. Ragsdale
Number of players: 17
Difficulty: Intermediate/advanced
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Vibraphone 1
Player 3: Vibraphone 2
Player 4: Staff Bells (Handbells)
Player 5: Xylophone
Players 6-9: Marimba 1,2,3,4
Player 10: Harp
Player 11: Celesta
Player 12: Piano
Player 13: Snare drum
Player 14: Cymbals
Player 15: Gong
Player 16: Bass Drum
Player 17: 4 Timpani
Product Info
| SKU | AAMPE-01 |
|---|
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