Percussion Quartet No. 2

Dave Hollinden's dynamic Percussion Quartet No. 2 beings very quietly & stealthily, then moves through many more styles/moods with such markings as Punched, Angular, Kaleidoscopic, Jagged, and Fickle.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players:
Series: Hollinden Signature Series
Level: Advanced | Duration: 14:00

Instrumentation
Score (9"x12" spiral bound)

Player 1: Large Tom, Snare Drum, Cowbell, 2 Auto Springs, 2 Triangles, Slit Drum, 3 Cymbals
Player 2: Large Tom, Snare Drum, Cowbell, Hi-Hat, 4 Flower Pots, Sandpaper Blocks, Bass Drum, Small Tam-Tam, Wind Gong
Player 3: Large Tom, Field Drum with snares, High Tom, Cowbell, 2 Brake Drums, 2 Metal Pipes, Claves, Vibraphone
Player 4: 4 Timpani, Large Tom, Snare Drum, Medium Tom, Cowbell, 4 Crotales (A, C, E, G ascending), Metal Chain, Bell Plate, Tin Can, Tambourine without head, 5 Temple Blocks

Program Notes
Percussion Quartet No. 2 begins pianissimo (cymbals, snare w/brushes, vibes, timpani) with a four note theme on the timpani and the instruction "Sly, stealthy". The energy slowly builds to a huge, expressive climax marked "Wham!" (snare, bass drum/tamtam/wind gong, snare, timpani) which dissolves to piano at "Hush, hush" (metals, tamtam/gong, vibes, timpani). The piece then proceeds through a series of increasingly soft and spacious sections marked "Crisp and Brittle", "Delicate, ethereal", and "With a whisper" as the performers move from metals and flower pots with lighter and lighter beaters to the wood instruments with their finger tips. This is interrupted at "POW!" with fortississimo unison drumming on large toms, snares and cowbells through a series of sections marked "Punched", "Angular", "Kaleidoscopic," and "Jagged". "Fickle" signals a return to a more abstract, spacious feel as the instrumentation turns toward metals and flower pots. The four note theme returns as the piece drifts into a pianissimo texture of cymbals and gongs, metallic scrapes and fingers on timpani, ending with a hand on the bass drum.

Diana Loomer, Will Miller, Brad Plesz, Ben Russell, percussion
Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University
February 20, 2011