PULSE FOR ORCHESTRA
PROGRAM NOTES
My conception of Pulse began as a long contemplation of daily life as we know it, combined with thoughts of life in nature. The universe seems to have this natural rhythm to it. It is as if every living thing we are aware and unaware of is being held together by a mysterious, resolute force.
Pulse is an episodic rhapsody that explores several phases and colorful variants of rhythm all held together by an unwavering pulse. Each episode is meant to symbolize a different scenario of life for the listener, be it a buzzing modern metropolis, a deep wilderness abundant with animalia, or the scenic endless abyss of the ocean. All of these worlds and their philosophical meanings are then brought together in a contemplative theme of "unification" in the strings that symbolizes our deep connection as living beings to everything within, over, under, and around us.
-Brian Raphael Nabors
*First performed by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero on September 9th, 2019 in Laura Turner Concert Hall at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN for the NSO 2019 Composer Lab Showcase.
INSTRUMENTATION
3 Flutes (3rd doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboes
1 English Horn
3 Clarinets in Bb (3rd doubling Bass Clarinet in Bb)
2 Bassoons
1 Contrabassoon
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in C
2 Trombones
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Timpani
3 Percussion:
Percussion I
Vibraphone (mallets & bow), Wood Blocks, Hi Hat, Bass Drum.
Percussion II
Crotales (mallets & bow), Marimba, Suspended Cymbal, Whip,
3 Concert Tom-toms (low, mid., high) (mallets & drum sticks)
Percussion III
Xylophone, Triangle, Bongos (with sticks), Tam-tam (mallet, bow, and metal beaters)
Harp
Piano/Celesta (1 Player)
Strings
Duration: 12:00 Score is Transposed
PERFORMANCE
Flutes:
NOTES
*Air Beatboxing - Essentially "talking" into the flute, air beatboxing utilizes the use of talking syllables into the mouthpiece to produce a percussive, breathy series of sounds on the indicated pitches.
There is usually expected to be more air than pitch: "tu" = too
"ku" = koo
"chu" = choo
*Jet Whistle - a very loud glissando-like sound produced by sealing the embouchure hole completely with lips and blowing a fast, high-pressure air stream through the flute.
-Flutes, Clarinets, Trumpets:
*air only - A pitchless steady stream of air blown throughout the instrument.
*Accidentals apply for the entire measure, though many cautionary accidentals are also given.
