Descant - Stanley Leonard [DIGITAL]

A descant is a melody played above another basic melody. Descant begins as a quiet, mysterious march. The sounds of a far away street beat are heard as a descant to the basic musical events occurring. The music grows in intensity and energy, eventually creating a new experience of rhythm and sound. The drums are still there, maintaining their sustaining descant to the music’s finale.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 6
Series: N/A
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration: 6:00-7:00

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (8.5"x11" stapled booklet)

Player 1: Snare Drum, Bongos, Suspended Cymbal
Player 2: Small Bass Drum, Opera Gong
Player 3: Chimes, Ratchet
Player 4: Vibraphone, Two Brake Drums, Crash Cymbals
Player 5: Marimba (4-octave), Two Woodblocks
Player 6: Marimba (5-octave), Three Low Toms

Program Notes
As a young boy I was fascinated by the sounds of drums playing in a marching band. At that time our local high school band practiced marching on the street in front of our house. When the ensemble was not playing a tune the drums played what was called a “street beat” cadence to maintain the marching tempo. We had a metal kitchen table in our home. I drummed on the edge of the table with my hands, trying to imitate the sound of the “street beat.” The table rattled back with satisfying sound to my ears, but with annoyance to my mother. The long ago sounds of those drums, the cadences they produced, have followed me throughout my life like a descant over all my music making.

Music has been the basic melodic and harmonic force of my life. A descant is a melody played above another basic melody. Descant begins as a quiet, mysterious march. The sounds of a far away street beat are heard as a descant to the basic musical events occurring. The music grows in intensity and energy, eventually creating a new experience of rhythm and sound. The drums are still there, maintaining their sustaining descant to the music’s finale.

– S.L.

Hamiruge – The LSU Percussion Group