Requiem (for 12 Keyboard Percussionists)

Commissioned by the Texas Christian University Percussion Ensemble, Requiem is an homage for those who have passed on.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 12
Series: N/A
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration: 5:45

Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Crotales [2 octaves]
Player 3: Chimes
Player 4: Vibraphone 1
Player 5: Vibraphone 2
Player 6: Vibraphone 3
Player 7: Marimba 1 (Upper) [4.5-octave, shared]
Player 8: Marimba 1 (Lower) [4.5-octave, shared]
Player 9: Marimba 2 (Upper) [5-octave, shared]
Player 10: Marimba 2 (Lower) [5-octave, shared]
Player 11: Marimba 3 (Upper) [5-octave, shared]
Player 12: Marimba 3 (Lower) [5-octave, shared]

Program Notes
Requiem for percussion ensemble pays tribute to the long-standing classical tradition of a musical work that honors those who have passed on. This single-movement work takes a choral-style approach to the percussion ensemble, capitalizing on the natural resonance of the marimbas and tapping into the colorful sounds of the metallic instruments. The famous Requiem Aeternam is not quoted verbatim, but the 3/4 meter and rhythmic motives give subtle impressions of the Requiem Aeternam text (Requiem Aeternam... Dona eis Domine... etc.)

Requiem is organized into four sections, each section contains its own melodies that give way to new material in each proceeding section. The first three parts end with a tonally unsettled figure presented by the bass marimbas, rejecting the melodic idea proposed. The piece then moves on with another theme, each time ending in the same unsettled bass marimba figure. Some themes are explored further until they reach an expansive climax in which the word “Requiem” is particularly evoked. After a gradual decrescendo which culminates in a final presentation of the unsettled bass marimba figure, the piece gives way to a state of calm in which the final melody is introduced, suggesting peace, tranquility, and rest.

– C.B.

TCU Percussion Orchestra, conducted by Briad A. West