Sixth Gyre, The (Perc Ens 8)

A “gyre” is a large circular current in the ocean. There are five known gyres on Earth, hence, The Sixth Gyre. The piece builds itself around two vertically staged marimbas that all eight performers play. Throughout the piece, performers move between the two marimbas and other keyboard and battery instruments, adding to the current-like motion.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 8
Series: N/A
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration: 7:05

Instrumentation
Score (8.5"x11" spiral bound)

Player 1: 5-octave Marimba [shared], Rainstick, 2 Concert Toms
Player 2: 5-octave Marimba, Glockenspiel [both shared]
Player 3: 5-octave Marimba, Suspended Cymbal, 4 Concert Toms [all shared]
Player 4: 5-octave Marimba, Glockenspiel [both shared]
Player 5: 5-octave Marimba, Glockenspiel [both shared]
Player 6: 5-octave Marimba, Vibraphone [both shared]
Player 7: 5-octave Marimba, Vibraphone [both shared]
Player 8: 5-octave Marimba, Suspended Cymbal [both shared]

COLLECTIVELY SHARED
2 5-octave Marimbas
1 Vibraphone
1 Glockenspiel
4 Concert Toms
1 Suspended Cymbal
1 Rainstick

Program Notes
A “gyre” is a large circular current in the ocean. There are five known gyres on Earth, hence, The Sixth Gyre. The piece features both moments of minimalist-like chordal padding, and passages that involve the performers moving in a circular motion, both of which effectively add to the visualization the title describes. The Sixth Gyre builds itself around two vertically staged marimbas that all eight performers play. Throughout the piece, performers move between the two marimbas and other keyboard and battery instruments, adding to the current-like motion.