The concert in the school hall of the University of Evasville in Indiana was a real shocker and hugely interesting. The percussion ensemble performed some very modern works with huge aplomb and everything came across as very striking indeed. One aspect of the concert which was perhaps overlooked by other critics during the event was the excellent level of acoustics which was prevalent throughout the whole evening.
The concert began with Russel Peek’s ‘Lift Off’ composed in 1966. This work attempts to emulate the lifting off of an Apollo space rocket very much in keeping with the space programme which was being undertaken by the United States at the time. The percussion ensemble seemed to enjoy this work as the timpani were truly going off at all sorts of intervals and their playing was really quite out of this world in every department. Naturally enough there were some small lapses of ensemble especially with the triangle but all in all it was a fine performance which I really enjoyed. Peek’s music definitely deserves further scrutiny as he is rather unknown, at least he was to me before I encountered his work here but some more performances of his music should serve well to
Speak Softly by David T Little is a rather different work which portrays some sort of landscape and which is in keeping with the pensive nature of this composer who looks to the quieter side of the percussion ensemble to expose his messages. Naturally enough, the student percussion ensemble was faced with some daunting decisions especially in the central section but on the whole they attributed themselves quite well in every way. I enjoyed the soft strokes of the tom tom towards the end of the work as well as the menacing drum rolls as everything came through rather beautifully on all counts. Perhaps Little’s work could have been done better justice by a more professional ensemble but on the whole, I was quite pleased with the overall result.
The next work on the programme was Teamwork by Lynne Glasscock another contemporary composer with the work composed in 2007. Here one can observe the intricate nature of the percussion writing which goes along pretty well and the percussion ensemble immediately warmed to proceedings. There were some minor quibbles in the central part of the work which perhaps could have been attended to better but otherwise the work went along quite fine. I would like to once again mention the timpanist who really initiated proceedings quite brilliantly especially in the concluding part of the piece which shows that he has much promise for the future.
In the Toybox by Peter Saleh is another interesting work which deserves far wider currency both for its imaginative prowess as well as its sense of momentum and originality. The ensemble immediately took to the curious sound world of this piece which fairly leapt from the pages and which demonstrated that a toy sound world is truly a magical conundrum. Yet again the percussionist showed his mettle here and really got to the heart of the matter even in the quietest moments. I was also quite impressed by the whole ensemble’s art especially in the concluding part of the work which was definitely a real tough act to pull off.
Finally we had Ogoun Radagris by Christopher Rouse, a work composed in 1976 and which is very highly complex. Here one could sense that the percussion ensemble was struggling to find the true nature of the work which appears to mimic Stravinsky’s ‘the Rite of Spring’ in its motor rhythms and considerable intensity. However as a whole, everything turned out fine although there were also some wrong notes which could have led to a complete collapse of ensemble. I was quite enthused by the whole work and would very much like to hear it again but the ensemble performed very well for its relative youth.
Finally I would like to say that this concert was a true eye opener in the terms of percussion ensembles with a range and hue which is rarely found elsewhere. I look forward to further concerts by this excellent ensemble in this fine venue.
