Talea - Daniel Adams [DIGITAL]

Latin percussion performance and Medieval composition techniques are combined in Talea to create unusual musical patterns and colors. Although the piece is scored as a sextet, additional players may be added to any and all parts and it may be used for study, performance, or both.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 6
Level: Medium Easy | Duration: 2:35

Instrumentation
Percussion 1 (woodblock, claves)
Percussion 2 (temple blocks)
Percussion 3 (4 tom-toms)
Percussion 4 (conga, bongos)
Percussion 5 (triangle)
Percussion 6 (large cowbell)

Program Notes
Latin percussion performance and Medieval composition techniques are combined in Talea. The piece is named for a repeated figure characteristic of the Ars Nova isorhythmic motet. This figure was combined with an independently repeated pitch succession called a color. The result is a musical pattern in which pitch and rhythmic repetition coincide only periodically. Originally conceived as part of a larger multi-movement composition, Talea is based on several simultaneous isorhythmic patterns. The color of each line is based on indefinitely-pitched percussion sounds rather than actual pitches. The piece is in 5/4 meter throughout. The triangle opens with a steady eighth-note pattern consisting of a regular succession of open and muffled strokes. The cowbell, conga, and woodblock enter in a pattern of quarter notes that forms a three-against-four-against-five cross-rhythm. The claves, bongos, temple blocks, and tom-toms play repeated patterns that repeat every three, seven, eleven, and thirteen beats, respectively. Although Talea is scored as a sextet, additional players may be added to any and all parts and it may be used for study, performance, or both.