Wharton-Black Waves, Bright Moon (SP)-B/2V/C/X/4M/4T/P

From composer Russell Wharton’s own words: “Black Waves, Bright Moon for percussion orchestra is a series of scenes with a cosmic-horror atmosphere. Inspired by the work of American author H. P. Lovecraft, and specifically his story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the piece uses strange textures, ominous harmonies, and violent rhythmic figures to evoke the frightening world of Lovecraft’s fiction. Black Waves, Bright Moon tells of midnight rituals near the water, of strange towns with questionable histories, of inhuman sounds coming from the house next door, of great powers lurking deep under the waves, and the too-close moon that illuminates the things in the night.”

Players will work together and individually to create the various moods, sound effects, and scene changes occurring throughout the piece in service of delivering a unique, albeit slightly hair-raising, experience to an audience. There is certainly no shortage of notes for the performers to contend with but also a lot of space during which the listener must anxiously await whatever may be coming next.

Black Waves, Bright Moon ships as a fully bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for either printing or tablet viewing.

Additional Information:

• Number of players: 12
• Difficulty: Advanced
• Instrumentation:
• Player 1: Glockenspiel, suspended cymbal, triangle, key chimes
• Player 2: Xylophone, triangle, chimes
• Player 3: Vibraphone 1
• Player 4: Vibraphone 2
• Player 5: Marimba 1 (4.3 octave)
• Player 6: Marimba 2 (4.3 octave)
• Player 7: Marimba 3 (4.5 octave)
• Player 8: Marimba 4 (5 octave)
• Player 9: Ocean drum, bamboo wind chimes, 2 China cymbals (high/low), high dry metal, 5 granite blocks (or temple blocks, shared w/Player 10)
• Player 10: 4 timpani, concert snare drum, 5 granite blocks (or temple blocks)
• Player 11: suspended cymbal, sizzle cymbal, tam-tam (shared w/Player 12), key chimes, concert bass drum (shared w/Player 12), 4 concert toms
• Player 12: Ocean drum, concert bass drum, suspended cymbal tam-tam