“Histoire du Soldat”, what about the “L´”? “Histoire du Soldat”, by Igor Stravinsky, is one of the most important works in the percussion repertoire, as it was one of the first to be written for a percussion set. Apart from its “percusive” importance, it is a masterwork which is played very often (whether staged or… Continue reading “Histoire du Soldat”, what about the “L´”?
Category: Repertoire
Articles dealing with the vast repertoire for percussion.
Herd bells in “Tosca”.
Herd bells in “Tosca”. I have been to Rome lately, where I have spent some wonderfull days together with my family. Among many other places of general and musical interest, I have been to the Castel Sant´Angelo. The third act of “Tosca” takes place at this impresive building. More precisely at the upper platform. LA… Continue reading Herd bells in “Tosca”.
“Lieutenant Kije” and a peculiar tambourine technique
Lieutenant Kijé and a peculiar tambourine technique. On January 2, a new article of mine was published on the Grover Pro Percussion website. © Grover Pro Percussion Dealing with the very specific tambourine technique requested by Prokofiev in “Troika”, you can read it HERE. Tambourine part in “Troika”. …et in Arcadia ego. ©… Continue reading “Lieutenant Kije” and a peculiar tambourine technique
Xylophone in Richard Strauss´ “Salome”
Xylophone in Richard Strauss´ “Salome”. We, percussionists, very often play on instruments that, in reality, are not those that the composer indicated. We have the keyboard xylophone in “Bluebeard“ (B. Bartok), a part impossible to play on a regular xylophone; the glockenspiel parts in many works (“Magic Flute”, Mahler #7, «Daphnis et Chloe», etc.), which… Continue reading Xylophone in Richard Strauss´ “Salome”
“Concerto for percussion and small orchestra” (D. Milhaud)
“Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra” (D. Milhaud) Considered one of the first concerti for multipercussion, the Concerto pour batterie et petit orchestre op. 109, by Darius Milhaud, was written between 1929 and 1930. An important work in the percussion repertoire, it is played very often by both students and professionals. It is scored… Continue reading “Concerto for percussion and small orchestra” (D. Milhaud)
Tambourine in “Polovtsian Dances”: authorship, notation and technique (and II)
Tambourine in “Polovtsian Dances”: authorship, notation and technique (and II). Last Saturday, the second and last part of my article “Prince´s Igor Tambourine Mystery (part 2)” was published on the GroverPro website. You can read it HERE. © Grover Pro Percussion Did you know about this very specific technique? Stay tuned, as future articles will… Continue reading Tambourine in “Polovtsian Dances”: authorship, notation and technique (and II)
Tambourine in “Polovtsian Dances”: authorship, notation and technique (I)
Tambourine in “Polovtsian Dances”: authorship, notation and technique. Last Wednesday, my article “Prince´s Igor Tambourine Mystery (part 1)” was published on the Grover Pro website. You can read it HERE. © Grover Pro Percussion A second article showing the peculiar technique used in dances #8 and #17 will soon be published. …et in… Continue reading Tambourine in “Polovtsian Dances”: authorship, notation and technique (I)
Converting a floor tom into a tenor drum
Converting a floor tom into a tenor dum. This project started with a 16″x16″ floor tom. It was a Mapex Pro-M drum, so a very decent one. The interior of the shell was in immaculate state and the bearing edges were perfect, so it was time for a conversion of this nice drum. © David… Continue reading Converting a floor tom into a tenor drum
Making my own Renaissance long drum
Making my own Renaissance long drum. I always wanted a large drum like that owned by my dear colleague Manolo Durán. © David Valdés His drum has been used by the Oviedo Opera Foundation, by the Asturias Symphony Orchestra in several early music programs. I wanted one like his, but stablished brands do not offer… Continue reading Making my own Renaissance long drum
More on cymbals and Russian notation
More on cymbals and Russian notation. Last week I wrote THIS article. While researching on another issue which I will write about soon, I found more music that proves my previous article; namely, that “+” means suspended cymbal played with a soft stick and “o” means cymbals “a 2”. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the opera-ballet “Mlada”. Its third… Continue reading More on cymbals and Russian notation