Riven Asunder - Thom Hasenpflug [DIGITAL SET]

Written for the Rift Percussion Community Showcase, Riven Asunder, meaning “torn apart,” was a play on words as a suggestive embodiment of the word RIFT. Other aspects of the double entendre include how many of us are constantly torn away from the situations and relationships that ground us. It is an catchy, driving work for 9 percussionists that features unique instrument combinations.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 9
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration: 4:50

Instrumentation
Score (8.5"x11" stapled booklet)
Player 1: Vibraphone
Player 2: Vibraphone 2, Splash Cymbal
Player 3: Marimba 1 (4-octave), Chimes, Crotales (either octave)
Player 4: Marimba 2 (4.5-octave) [may be doubled]
Player 5: Medium High Tom, Snare Drum, Suspended Crash Cymbal, Almglocken Bell*
Player 6: 2 Medium Toms, Glockenspiel, China Cymbal, Almglocken Bell*
Player 7: 2 Medium High Toms, Woodblock, Almglocken Bell*
Player 8: Bass Drum, 2 Congas, Triangle, Ice Bell, Drum Cymbal, Almglocken Bell*
Player 9: Bass Drum, Wood Box, Suspended Cymbal, Brake Drum, 32” Timpano

*If you have the resources, notes from an Fs minor triad are preferred for the Almglocken. They should be four distinct pitches (Fs, A, Cs, Fs). Lower bells produce a better open/closed effect. If no Almglocken are available, use 4 semi-resonant metals of similar construction. They may be unpitched.

Program Notes
Riven Asunder was composed in 2023 as a premiere by the Idaho State University percussion group for the RIFT PERCUSSION community showcase, having immediately followed our own spring concert that year. Riven Asunder, which means “torn apart”, was a play on words for me as a suggestive embodiment of the word RIFT. Other aspects of the double entendre include how many of us are constantly torn away from the situations and relationships that ground us. The Rift Percussion group, which actually draws its name from the Great Rift of Idaho, is a WGI winter line startup, and began as an A-class group in 2023 and was bumped up to Open class in 2024. Several of my students and alums are co-affilliated, so this was composed mostly for fun as a crossover-collaboration with students and colleagues in mind.

– T.H.