Phantom Dances, The

This twelve-minute work for twelve players will bring a sense of mystery and illusion to its audience. Based on a poem by Walt Whitman, this percussion ensemble is another fine addition to the literature of Michael Hennagin. Hennagin has created a rhythmic and visual masterpiece through the use of syncopation, hemiola, and phantom gestures.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 12
Level: Difficult | Duration: 10:30

Instrumentation
Player 1 (orchestra bells, snare drum, castanets, sandblocks)
Player 2 (crotales, 7 roto-toms, 2 cowbells, tambourine, mark tree, small suspended cymbal)
Player 3 (chimes, snare drum, maracas)
Player 4 (xylophone, 2 woodblocks)
Player 5 (xylophone, piccolo snare drum)
Player 6 (vibraphone, snare drum, bongos, slapstick, small gong)
Player 7 (tam-tam, tambourine, triangle, large suspended cymbal, 5 concert toms, medium gong)
Player 8 (4.3-octave marimba, 2 brake drums, sleigh bells)
Player 9 (4.3-octave marimba, temple blocks, claves)
Player 10 (4.5-octave marimba crash cymbals)
Player 11 (4.5-octave marimba, bass drum, slit drum)
Player 12 (5 timpani, guiro, field drum, vibraslap)

Program Notes
Hast never come to thee an hour,
A suddent gleam...
(A Phantom,)
precipitating,
bursting all these bubbles,
fashions, wealth,
these eager business aims -
( a phantom -
feeding on the strife, the ceaseless ambition -
dances.)
books, politics, art, amours -
Hast never come to thee an hour,
( At work, at play, at home, on the street,
on a stage - )
A sudden gleam...
(a phantom - dancing, gliding, rising,
and softly whispering )
precipitating
("Why?" - )
bursting all these bubbles,
( While playing , the play,
speaking the lines,
beating the drum,
incessant, structured, disciplines, mechanical -
racked by the strife, the ceaseless ambition,
hast never come to thee
a secret moment when you embrace, and dance with the phantom )
to utter nothingness?
(in silence.)

- Walt Whitman

About the OU Percussion Press
In 1977 the OU Percussion Orchestra and Ensemble embarked on a project that developed into a national model for the encouragement and development of new music for percussion ensemble. The OU Percussion Ensemble Commissioning Series regularly engages outstanding composers to write works for this medium. The Commissioning Series is responsible for the creation of some of today`s staples in the percussion ensemble repertoire.

In 1983 the University of Oklahoma funded the establishment of the OU Percussion Press, a non-profit extension of the percussion area. Through the Percussion Press, the commissioning series compositions plus other works expressly written for the OU Percussion Orchestra and Ensembles have been made available for purchase and performance by the world`s leading percussion ensembles. The Percussion Press` catalog numbers more than 50 works, all published in a non-profit venture as a service to the profession.