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)
Tag: orchestral repertoire
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
Home-made “Baguettes d´éponge”
Home-made “Baguettes d´éponge”. Berlioz was a composer who showed a real interest in percussion and greatly contributed to its development. Trying to improve the timpani sound, he advocated the use of different types of sticks to enrich the color palette produced by these instruments. One of the types of stick that he indicated was “baguettes… Continue reading Home-made “Baguettes d´éponge”
“Castagnettes de fer” in “Samson and Delilah”.
“Castagnettes de fer” in “Samson and Dehlila”. “Samson and Delilah”, by Camille Saint-Saëns, is an opera premiered in 1877 containing some interesting percussion parts. So, the glockenspiel in the 3º scene of the 3º act is a usual suspect in audition lists, the timpani part in the “Bacchanale” is a good one (and also an… Continue reading “Castagnettes de fer” in “Samson and Delilah”.
“Tavolette” in “Feste Romane”
“Tavolette” in “Feste Romane”. At the end of the last season I was lucky enough to play “Feste Romane” (“Roman Festivals”) which, together with “Fountains” and “Pines”, form Ottorino Respighi´s “Roman Triptych”. It is a work featuring an exuberant, imaginative and brilliant orchestration. It requires a “percusive force” of one timpanist plus nine percussionists and, in… Continue reading “Tavolette” in “Feste Romane”
The tenor drum, that great unknown
The tenor drum, that great unknown. The tenor drum is an instrument not very well known; even seasoned percussionists mistake it for the military drum, another member of the percusive family. This article will define its characteristics and make clear what instrument it is. At first I thought that this article would make not much sense… Continue reading The tenor drum, that great unknown
The Provençal drum
The Provençal drum. Today´s article deals with a traditional instrument that has made its way into the symphony orchestra. Common to different drumming traditions from several countries and around five centuries old, its name in French is very similar to the way that other completely different instruments are named in other nations, which has caused… Continue reading The Provençal drum
Various stickings for “Scheherezade”.
Various stickings for “Scheherezade” Sometime ago I showed you a one-handed way to play the third movement of “Scheherezade”. That article was “Snare drum technique. One-handed Scheherezade”. © Grover Pro Percussion After recording that video I tried a few stickings to play that excerpt. You can see the result here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lryhSytw26g These are the different… Continue reading Various stickings for “Scheherezade”.
Snare drum technique. One-handed “Scheherezade”
Snare drum technique. One-handed “Scheherezade” Some weeks ago I saw an interesting video by Tony Ames (principal percussion with the National Symphony Orchestra) on which he can be seen playing the famous snare drum excerpt from the third movement of “Scheherezade” (N. Rimsky-korsakov) using just one hand. You know that I always try anything that leads… Continue reading Snare drum technique. One-handed “Scheherezade”
Editing timpani parts (II)
Editing timpani parts (II). Continuing with the issue that we previously discussed, I´d like to show you my version of the “Sanctus” from Verdi´s “Requiem”. The use of full range speakers or headphones is highly recommended. You can legally and freely download the score and the parts here: IMSLP. © David Valdés This… Continue reading Editing timpani parts (II)