“Carmina Burana” revealed (part 1). On April 25, my first article dealing with the timpani and percussion parts in “Carmina Burana” (Carl Orff) was published on the GROVER PRO website. You can read it HERE. I hope you enjoy it. Please stay tuned for the next articles in the series. …et in… Continue reading Carmina Burana revealed (part 1)
Category: Various
Articles dealing with anything else.
“Rapsodie Espagnole”, by Ravel
“Rapsodie Espagnole”, by Ravel. “Rapsodie Espagnole“, by Ravel, is not only an important work in the symphonic repertoire; it also features wonderfully written percussion parts. Sadly, both the score and the particelle are plaged with numerous mistakes and missprints that the first edition has perpetuated in many performances and recordings. Because I played this work… Continue reading “Rapsodie Espagnole”, by Ravel
“Scheherezade”, roll or articulate?
“Scheherezade”, roll or articulate? Despite being one of the milestones in the symphonic repertoire, “Scheherezade” features, believe or not, many mistakes and misprints. Belaieff (I have already mentioned him in previous articles) published the score and parts in 1899 in Leipzig. Since then, we have played using the exact same edition: 135 years perpetuating the… Continue reading “Scheherezade”, roll or articulate?
Converting a tom into a snare drum.
Converting a tom into a snare drum. This project starts with a phone call by my colleague Adrián, owner of a 10″x7″ Tama Silverstar tom that he wanted to convert into a snare drum. The original tom. I disassembled all the parts so I could make the snare beds, a necessary structure so the snares… Continue reading Converting a tom into a snare drum.
“Xilofono basso” in “Turandot” (G. Puccini).
“Xilofono basso” in “Turandot” (G. Puccini). “Turandot”, by Giaccomo Puccini, is scored for timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam, tubular bells, glockenspiel (keyboard), tuned gongs (the same as in “Madama Butterfly”), triangle, xylophone and bass xylophone in the pit; a tam-tam and a temple block onstage. I will write about the tuned gongs in… Continue reading “Xilofono basso” in “Turandot” (G. Puccini).
Restauration of a Givernau tenor drum.
Restauration of a Givernau tenor drum. I have found a very peculiar drum in an antiques fair. It measures 44,7x31cm or 17″ 10/16 x 12″ 4/16). They are not “exact” measures in neither system, which is quite bizarre. It also features some nice single point lugs and the tension rods are off-set. As you can… Continue reading Restauration of a Givernau tenor drum.
“Histoire du Soldat”, what about the “L´”?
“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´”?
Modification of a Premier bass drum
Modification of a Premier bass drum. This project is a consequence of a larger one; namely, to provide myself with the proper drums to recreate as close as possible the original sound, character and looks in Stravinsky´s “The Soldier´s Tale”. For the bass drum I used a 28″x12″ Premier (model 188) from the 70s.… Continue reading Modification of a Premier bass drum
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)