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Genre: Percussion Ensemble
# of Players: 8
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 4:10
Publisher: C. Alan Publications | Copyright: 2017
Download mp3 | Click on images to left for score sample
Syzygy, meaning the alignment of celestial bodies, is reflected in this work for mallet ensemble. The piece uses multiple rhythmic and melodic themes to create a juxtaposition between feelings of tension and calmness.
Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 8
Level: Medium Difficult | Duration: 4:10
Instrumentation
Xylophone
Marimba 1 (4-octave)
Marimba 2 (4-octave)
Marimba 3 (4-octave)
Vibraphone 1
Vibraphone 2
Glockenspiel
Chimes
Program Notes
Syzygy, meaning the alignment of celestial bodies, is reflected in this work for mallet ensemble. The piece uses multiple rhythmic and melodic themes to create a juxtaposition between feelings of tension and calmness. The first section features marimbas playing 16th note rhythms that interlock and create a background for the other instruments to play a flowing melody. The second section reflects some of the same themes, while crafting a more chaotic texture. Ultimately, the piece fades out with a new theme and the marimbas recalling the rhythms from the beginning.
“Syzygy” is a four-minute work for mallet octet that would be appropriate for an advanced high school to beginning college percussion ensemble. The writing features interlocking rhythms in the wood instruments, over which the metallics often present slower moving lines and sustains. Although comprised of three sections, there is much organic unity between them, as characteristic motives and rhythms often reappear throughout the piece, creating high-quality exposure to minimalist and ambient textures for students.
All of the parts of written for two mallets, with the exception of the two vibraphone parts, where four-mallet writing is used but is limited to static or repetitive chord progressions. While the xylophone and marimba parts often rely on interlocking and syncopated sixteenth-note rhythms, Matthew Curley approaches this intelligently by scoring the parts in pairs, allowing extra security for less confident players. He breaks from this approach for a brief moment where the wood instruments execute hocketed thirty-second note groupings (each on a single pitch) to create an overall composite line. While this is perhaps the only real standout technical challenge of the piece, it is brief and is no more difficult than what students might encounter in a high school marching bass drum section. The effect, however, is striking and serves as a break from the otherwise “chill” demeanor of the work. Scored responsibly enough for younger students, yet uncompromising in artistic ideas, “Syzygy” would be a great addition to a school percussion ensemble concert, either with a conductor or without.
Jason Baker
Percussive Notes
Vol. 57, No. 4, September 2019 Jason Baker on Jul 15th 2022