Growl for orchestra
Dennis Tobenski
Growl (2012)
Dennis Tobenski
Copyright Š 2012.
Instrumentation Piccolo 2 Flutes 3 Oboes 3 Clarinets in B-flat (III doubling Bass Clarinet) 2 Bassoons 4 Horns in F 3 Trumpets in C 3 Trombones Tuba Timpani 3 Percussionists (Suspended Cymbal, Gong, Snare Drum, Temple Blocks(5), Tom-toms (4), Triangle, Chimes Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone) Strings
Duration: 5 minutes
Program Note Growl for solo piano was written over a period of two weeks in late June / early July 2011 for my good friend Marc Peloquin, who commissioned the work for a performance at Barbés in Park Slope, Brooklyn as part of a new concert series, The Upright Pianos Brigade, co-sponsored by Barbés and Concert Artists Guild. Growl owes its title to flutist Esther Landau, who I met at the American Music Center's 2011 Annual Meeting. While we discussed strange sources for texts, Esther told me of a collection she had made of bizarre subject lines from spam emails from the days before spam filters could stop all but the craftiest of Viagra ads, and promised to send it to me. One Facebook friend request later, and I had Esther's list in hand. While I found all of the items on the list strangely evocative, I was most immediately moved by "Growl", and knew then and there that I'd found the title and inspiration for Marc's piece. The piece is cast in a roughly ABA/fast-slow-fast form, and centers around two musical ideas: a driving left-hand ostinato and a 16-bar melodic line. As the piece opens, the ostinato immediately establishes itself, low and menacing, punctuated by snaps and snarls as it races forward. When we first hear the melodic line, it is soft and distant - almost creepy - and it immediately repeats itself, much louder and more violently. After a brief return to the opening of the piece, we have a moment of respite as the ostinato abruptly drops away, and time stands still for a moment before giving way to a peaceful, ethereal version of the melody. But peace doesn't last long as the melody becomes increasingly dissonant and violent, culminating in a brutal, crashing cacophony that surges into a triumphal climax. As the grand chords ebb away, the ostinato begins to quietly re-insinuate itself back into the fabric of the piece, building slowly to a return to the opening material and a "screaming" version of the melodic line. Suddenly, the triumphal chords come thundering back, warring with the ostinato - each interrupting the other, clashing to a frenzied, crashing end. I orchestrated the work in the Spring of 2012 at the insistence of my friend and mentor Chester Biscardi, who, when he heard a recording of Marc's performance, exclaimed, “You have an orchestra piece here!” Growl is dedicated to Marc Peloquin and Esther Landau.
4
Growl
Score in C
for orchestra
Piccolo Flute 1.2
Oboe 1.2.3
Clarinet in Bb 1.2.3
Bass Clarinet in Bb
q = 184 Menacing
Bassoon 1.2 1
Horn in F 1.3
pp
2
3 2
1
3
Horn in F 2.4
Trombone
Tuba
Trumpet in Bb
4
ff ff 2
p
f`
f` f`
p
f`
p sub.
Chimes
Glockenspiel
Snare Drum
Temple Blocks
Tom-toms
Triangle
Violin II
Viola
snares on
motor off
q = 184 Menacing
Violoncello
pp
Contrabass
p
Gong
Violin I
Vibraphone
ff
pp
p sub.
Marimba
ff
Xylophone
Suspended Cymbal
p sub.
ff
ff
pp
Timpani
DENNIS TOBENSKI (2012)
pizz.
pp
ff
ff
Copyright © 2011 Dennis Tobenski. All rights reserved.
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ff
ff
ff
ff
ff
sffz arco
sffz
36
Picc.
221
ff
Fl.
Ob.
ff
ff
Cl.
ff
B. Cl.
Bsn.
ff
Hn.
Hn.
Tpt.
sffz
sffz
Tba.
Timp.
fff
fff
fff
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
f
ff
sffz
f
f
sffz
Tbn.
ff
f
fff
sffz
Chim.
Glock.
Susp.Cym.
Gong
S. D.
T. Bl.
Tom-t.
Tri.
Xyl.
Mar.
Vib.
ff
ff
Vln. I
ff
Vln. II
f
ff
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
ff
f
ff pizz.
f
ff
sffz arco
sffz
f pizz.
f
fff
fff
fff
fff
fff
37
226
Picc.
Fl.
Ob.
Cl.
p
B. Cl.
Bsn.
Hn.
sffz
p
p
ff
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
ff
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
Chim.
Glock.
Mar.
Vln. I
p
p
p
ff
sffz arco
sffz
pizz.
p
p
Cb.
Vc.
Vla.
Vln. II
Vib.
ff
ff
Xyl.
Tri.
ff
Tom-t.
ff
ff
ff
ff
ff
T. Bl.
ff 1.2
S. D.
ff 1.2.3
Gong
ff
ff 1.2
Susp.Cym.
sffz
sffz
sffz
Timp.
p
p
1.3
sffz
sffz
Tba.
p
sffz
Tbn.
sffz
p
2.4
sffz
sffz
Tpt.
sffz
Hn.
ff
ff
ff
sffz arco
sffz
ff
ff
pizz.
ff
ff
ff
ff
ff
38
233
Picc.
Fl.
Ob.
Cl.
fff
fff
fff 1.2.3
Hn.
sffz
Tpt.
sffz
Tbn.
sffz
sffz
Tba.
sffz
sffz
sffz
fff
fff
fff
fff
fff
sffz
fff
fff
sffz
fff
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
fff
sffz
fff
sffz
Gong
sffz
sffz
fff
sffz
sffz
sffz sffz
fff
sffz
sffz
fff
sffz
sffz
fff
fff
fff
fff
sffz
sffz
fff
sffz
sffz
sffz
fff
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
sffz
fff
fff
fff
fff
sffz
Susp.Cym.
sffz
Timp.
fff
fff
sffz
fff
fff
fff
sffz
fff
fff
sffz
Hn.
fff
fff
Bsn.
sffz
sffz
ff
fff
Chim.
Glock.
S. D.
T. Bl.
Tom-t.
Tri.
Xyl.
fff
Mar.
Vib.
fff
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
fff
sffz
fff pizz.
fff
fff
sffz arco
sffz
fff pizz.
fff
fff
fff
fff
fff
fff
sffz arco
Cb.
fff
fff
fff
fff
sffz arco
sffz
fff
fff
sffz arco
sffz
fff
fff
fff pizz.
fff
fff
fff
fff
fff
sffz arco
sffz
fff
fff
fff
fff pizz.
fff
sffz arco
sffz
sffz
sffz
5'22"