Percussion Perspectives, Mvt. I

Give the percussion section a workout with Stuart Johnson's Percussion Perspectives I. Very accessible yet dramatic piece.

Genre: Solo Percussion Section with Band | # of Players: Standard + 6
Level: 4 | Duration: 4:10

Instrumentation
Flute 1
Flute 2
Flute 3/Piccolo
Oboe
Eb Clarinet
Bb Clarinet 1
Bb Clarinet 2
Bb Clarinet 3
Eb Alto Clarinet*
Bb Bass Clarinet*
Bassoon

Eb Alto Saxophone 1
Eb Alto Saxophone 2*
Bb Tenor Saxophone
Eb Baritone Saxophone*

Bb Cornet 1
Bb Cornet 2
Bb Trumpet 1
Bb Trumpet 2
Bb Trumpet 3
F Horn 1
F Horn 2
F Horn 3
F Horn 4*
Trombone 1
Trombone 2*
Trombone 3
Euphonium
(TC Baritone)
Tuba

Percussion 1
Percussion 2
Timpani

Percussion Instruments used:
4 Timpani
Drum kit (including bass drum, side drum, high hat, tom toms)
Bongos
Cymbals
Tam tam (use large cymbal if not available)
Xylophone (cued, so possible to perform without, but highly desirable)
Glockenspiel
Wooden agogo
Metal agogo
Tambourine
Woodblocks or skulls
Castanets
Claves
Vibraslap
Bell Tree
Rain shaker
Resi resi (fish scraper)

Parts marked with as asterisk (*) are NOT ESSENTIAL, although their presence will obviously enable a fuller realization of the composer's intentions to be achieved.

Program Notes
Though not without opportunities for displays of virtuosity, this work is not a concerto. In fact, Percussion Perspectives I is the first movement of a three-movement suite for wind orchestra which features percussion, although it stands on its own as a concert piece. However, unlike many percussion pieces, which tend to be lightweight in style, I have tried to provide a serious repertoire piece which happens to contain prominent parts for percussion instruments. When composing the piece I reversed my usual process of writing the music and then adding percussion parts to provide extra colour and reinforcement of rhythmic ideas. In this composition the ideas were conceived first for percussion and then translated into melody and harmony by the other instruments. In face there are several places in the score where this process is transparent, with the percussion expounding the ideas before they are taken up by the wind instruments.

The leading roles are taken by timpani and side drum with a significant contribution from glockenspiel and xylophone. In addition to these major players a panoply of other percussion instruments are used ranging from agogos to vibraslap.