Hitah (2020/2022) for 6 players

Rei Munakata Hitah (2020/2022) for voice, trombone, 2 percussion players, guitar, and piano

Instrumentation Voice

Voice with any register Meinl original spark shaker Megaphone Mp3 player with speaker

Trombone

Trombone Plunger mute Mp3 player with speaker

Percussion 1

Concert bass drum Floor tom Wooden box Dish rack drainer Triangle beater Rasping stick 2 Whisks Meinl headed spark shaker Jagged glass jar with spoon

Percussion 2

Floor tom Dish rack drainer Triangle beater Rasping Stick Meinl original spark shaker 2 Whisks Jagged glass jar with spoon Mp3 player with speaker

Guitar

Acoustic guitar Meinl original spark shaker Rasping stick Mp3 player with speaker

Piano

Grand piano with 3 pedals Spring drum Plastic bucket Aluminium foil Plunger

Disposition Piano with 3 pedals

Voice

Plunger

Percussion 1

Bass drum Floor tom

Wooden box

Trombone

Percussion 2

Floor tom

Guitar

Balance and amplification The performance of Hitah (2020/2022) should focus on the sound of the vocals and instruments themselves. While some objects might need amplification, the general sound should be kept ¨acoustic¨ as much as possible. If the ensemble is amplified, the amplification should be as discreet as possible only to support the balance of the ensemble. Thus, the loud speakers should not be placed right in front of the audience to take too much attention.

All levels and adjustment should be made to balance with the vocal performer.

tteii and Hitah While Hitah (2020/2022) is an independent work, it is also possible to perform together with its sister-piece, tteii, in the same program. Either they can be played attacca (with order tteii - Hitah) or placed separately in the same program (ex. tteii before the break and Hitah after the break).

Performance Notes General (Dots on a line preceding a notehead)

Repeat the indicated note indeterminately during the given duration (often marked with an arrow). As fast and many as possible but without loosing the clear articulation. Static and somewhat mechanical as if a damaged CD player keeps skipping back to the same place.

Whispering / Speaking / Singing All performers in Hitah (2020/2022) perform whispering / speaking / singing throughout the piece.

In general, the vocal performer has the central role, and the vocalisation produced by the other performers (instrumentalists) should be subtle and discrete with less attention most of the time.

Black note head (¨●¨) Cross note head (¨x¨)

With voice Without voice.

Off stage Trombone The trombone player is asked to leave the stage and walk to ¨off stage¨. Walk calmly as silently and discreetly as possible. Start playing ¨Off stage trombone¨ part after ca 15 seconds of arrival.

To achieve the lontano effect, find a spot that gives an impression that the trombone sound comes from far away. It should sound like ppp - pp on the stage, blending the 4 mp3 audio files. The actual playing is f - ff.

The remaining performers on the stage should wait for the Off-stage trombone to finish (¨fermata¨) before going on.

Ending The performers choose from two different versions of its ending.

Ending version 1: The performers take the spark shakers and start walking around the stage (the order shown in the score).

The vocal performer turns off the audio files one by one.

When the piano finally stops playing, the other performers start walking towards the grand piano. The speed of the shaker stirring and the footsteps become slower and slower, and finally stop ca 2 m away from the piano - unreached and unfinished.

Ending version 2: After the guitarist finishes the phrase, the vocalist, percussion 2 player, and the guitarist turn off the audio files when ¨it is time¨ (do not coordinate). Percussion 2 player also turns off for the trombonist. The pianist makes a diminuendo al niente. Listen to the choir of spark shaker and meditate. Finally, the sostenuto pedal suddenly snaps to conclude the piece.

Voice The voice part can be performed by any singer / voice artist. Change octaves when necessary to suit the performer’s voice.

Meinl Original Spark Shaker

Megaphone

A shaker from Meinl made of perforated sheet.

Stir the shaker in circular motion.

Large megaphone run on batteries.

Mp3 player with speaker (Audio File no. 1) Any mp3 file player (small mp3 player or smartphone) connected to a small speaker with mini jack cable to bluetooth. The speaker should be as small and low quality as possible.

Upload Audio File no. 1 before the rehearsals and/or the performance.

Place the setup near the performer.

Note head Black note head (¨●¨) Square note head (¨ ⬜ ¨) Cross note head (¨x¨)

With voice With 1/2 air and 1/2 voice Without voice. But add a little voice depending on the dynamics and expression

Story telling without words As default, the vocal part generally focus on the sound timbre and quality of vocal techniques and pronunciation. The voice is treated as an instrument that blends with the rest of the ensemble.

The vocalist acts as a ¨story teller¨ without descriptive words throughout the work. Avoid being theatrical, but give more expression and try to have direct contact with the audience as if you are telling a story.

Trombone Plunger mute Mp3 player with speaker (Audio File no. 4) Any mp3 file player (small mp3 player or smartphone) connected to a small speaker with mini jack cable to bluetooth. The speaker should be as small and low quality as possible.

Upload Audio File no. 4 before the rehearsals and/or the performance.

Place the setup near the performer.

Note head Black note head (¨●¨) Square note head (¨ ⬜ ¨) Triangle note head (¨▷¨)

Normal playing with pitch Air noise when exhaling (¨ex¨) and whistle/air tone when inhaling (¨in¨) Tongue ram (¨HT¨)

Trombone extended techniques Plunger mute In this example, the changes must be discrete and not continuous/gradual. Change the sound timbre clearly but without effort.

In this example, move the mute quickly for each small glissandi notes and air noises.

Always articulate the main note and the glissandi should be light and momental.

The gesture should be highly explosive and unpredictable with irregular rhythm.

Mouthpiece, and Bell / Slide If performing Hitah directly after its sister piece tteii, make sure to place back the mouthpiece into the instrument.

Off stage trombone The trombone player is asked to leave the stage and walk to ¨off stage¨. Walk calmly as silently and discreetly as possible.

Start to play ¨Off stage trombone¨ part after ca 15 seconds of arrival. To achieve the lontano effect, find a spot that gives an impression that the sound of the trombone is from a very far away place. It should sound like ppp - pp on the stage, blending the 4 mp3 audio files, while the actual playing is f - ff.

Create a continuous and organic phrasing. The ¨silence¨ does not indicate a ¨beginning¨ or ¨ending¨ of a phrase. There should be some tones there but are ¨hidden¨ or ¨not sounding¨. Keep the tempo and rhythm — not totally free.

Percussion 1 Concert bass drum Floor tom Wooden box Dish rack drainer Triangle beater Rasping stick 2 Whisks Meinl headed spark shaker Jagged glass jar with spoon

Concert bass drum Medium size concert bass drum placed horisontally on a stand.

Floor tom 16 inch floor tom with a good resonance. The legs of the tom should have zigzag texture, both above and below the screw, in order to create crunchy scraping sound with the whisks (as shown in the photo).

Wooden box Small wooden box. Place upside down (bottom up) to be used as a resonance board for the dish rack drainer.

Drainer (Dish rack drainer) A Dish rack drainer made of flexible metal with a small paper tag (the product tag left hanging).

In the air Hold the top of the drainer with l.h., and scrape (¨arpeggio¨) the drainer bars with a triangle beater in the air.

Wave the entire drainer and let ring. Let the paper tag sizzle. !

!

In the air + Drop on resonance board After scraping the drainer with the triangle beater in the air (upper staff line), place the edge of the drainer on the indicated resonance board such as drum or wooden box (lower staff line).

When dropping on a surface, a very determined and clear action is desired in order to transmit the resonance sharply and clearly. Let the paper tag sizzle.

!

On the floor tom Place the drainer on the floor tom skin, the curvy bars facing upwards. Scrape all the bars with rasping stick, placed perpendicular to the drainer bars as shown in the picture. Let the paper tag sizzle.

Violent and noisy!

Whisks 2 metal whisks with open end. The metal brushes should be flexible and they hit each other when shaken.

Preferably at least 32 cm in length or longer. 2 whisks can be of 2 different models or brands in order to create colourful sound timbre.

Ex. WMF Flexi Whisk Profi Plus 32 cm

Whisks scraping the floor tom rim and legs

! !

Hold 2 whisks (one in each hand) and scrape the indicated positions of the floor tom (both hands perform the same action. When scraping the legs, choose 2 legs - 1 leg each whisk). Roll and twist the whisks to achieve a textured noise.

Leg position is indicated with 3 line staff Upper line = Rim Middle line = Leg above the screw Lower line = Leg below the screw The whisk position is indicated with roman numerals as shown in the picture. It is especially important that Position III is right next to the holder where the metal brushes are the tightest.

Meinl headed spark shaker Head up

A shaker from Meinl made of perforated sheet on one side and goat skin on the other. ¨Head up¨: The goat skin facing upwards, and the grains do not touch the skin. ¨Head down¨: The goat skin facing downwards, and the grains roll on the skin.

Head down

Stir the shaker in circular motion.

Jagged glass jar on Floor tom Short and wide glass jar with jagged bottom used for crème brûlée, often sold in normal supermarket.

Ex. La Crème Brûlée by brand Rians.

Place the empty and cleaned glass jar on the bass drum skin upside down (the jagged bottom facing upwards). Slowly scrape the glass jar with the bottom (back) of the spoon along the jagged edge. Let the drum function as a resonant board.

Percussion 2 Floor tom Dish rack drainer Triangle beater Rasping Stick 2 Whisks Meinl original spark shaker Jagged glass jar with spoon Mp3 player with speaker

Mp3 player with speaker (Audio File no. 3) Any mp3 file player (small mp3 player or smartphone) connected to a small speaker with mini jack cable to bluetooth. The speaker should be as small and low quality as possible.

Upload Audio File no. 3 before the rehearsals and/or the performance.

Place the setup near the performer.

Floor tom 16 inch floor tom with a good resonance. The legs of the tom should have zigzag texture, both above and below the screw, in order to create interesting sound with the whisks (as shown in the photo).

Drainer (Dish rack drainer) A Dish rack drainer made of flexible metal with a small paper tag (the product tag left hanging).

In the air Hold the top of the drainer with l.h., and scrape (¨arpeggio¨) the drainer bars with a triangle beater in the air.

Wave the entire drainer and let ring. Let the paper tag sizzle. !

!

In the air + Drop on resonance board After scraping the drainer with the triangle beater in the air (upper staff line), place the edge of the drainer on the indicated resonance board such as drum or wooden box (lower staff line).

When dropping on a surface, a very determined and clear action is desired in order to transmit the resonance sharply and clearly. Let the paper tag sizzle.

!

On the floor tom Place the drainer on the floor tom skin, the curvy bars facing upwards. Scrape all the bars with rasping stick, placed perpendicular to the drainer bars as shown in the picture. Let the paper tag sizzle.

Violent and noisy!

Whisks 2 metal whisks with open end. The metal should be very flexible and the handle should be round (not flat).

At least 32 cm in length or longer. 2 whisks can be of 2 different models or brands in order to create colourful sound timbre.

Ex. WMF Flexi Whisk Profi Plus 32 cm Whisks scraping the floor tom rim and legs

! !

Hold 2 whisks (one in each hand) and scrape the indicated positions of the floor tom (both hands perform the same action. When scraping the legs, choose 2 legs - 1 leg each whisk). Roll and twist the whisks to achieve a textured noise.

Leg position is indicated with 3 line staff Upper line = Rim Middle line = Leg above the screw Lower line = Leg below the screw The whisk position is indicated with roman numerals as shown in the picture. It is especially important that Position III is right next to the holder where the metal brushes are the hardest.

Meinl original spark shaker A shaker from Meinl made of perforated sheet.

Stir the shaker in circular motion.

Jagged glass jar on Floor tom Short and wide glass jar with jagged bottom used for crème brûlée, often sold in normal supermarket.

Ex. La Crème Brûlée by brand Rians.

Place the empty and cleaned glass jar on the floor tom skin upside down (the jagged bottom facing upwards). Slowly scrape the glass jar with the bottom (back) of the spoon along the jagged edge. Let the floor tom function as a resonant board.

Guitar Acoustic guitar (The score is transposed) Mp3 player with speaker (Audio File no. 2) Any mp3 file player (small mp3 player or smartphone) connected to a small speaker with mini jack cable to bluetooth. The speaker should be as small and low quality as possible.

Upload Audio File no. 2 before the rehearsals and/or the performance.

Place the setup near the performer.

Meinl original spark shaker A shaker from Meinl made of perforated sheet.

Stir the shaker in circular motion.

Guitar extended techniques Guitar clef for string positions Right next to the bridge Above the sound hole Above the end of the fingerboard Above ca half of the strings (or where the neck ends)

!

Rasping stick The guitar should be placed on a table when performing the rasping stick for better stability and control.

!

!

Rasping stick: Wooden stick with carved teeth

Scrape all the strings with the carved teeth of the rasping stick. As default, the pressure should be as light as possible in order to hear some gentle rattling pitches and overtones. If you hear only the scraping noise, it is too much pressure! This is exempted when indicated ¨Over pressure¨ (more scraping noise in focus in this case).

The speed of the stick movement is roughly suggested with the amount of ¨dots¨ over a straight line. The line indicates the movement of the stick and the dots indicate the actual sound ¨clicks¨. i.e. a line without dots means that you are moving the stick but too slow for the carved teeth to catch any string. All these details are relative and feel free to ad lib.

While the left hand damps all the strings as default, the performer is often asked to quickly release the strings (open strings) and damp again. Be decisive and clear with the physical gesture (accents!).

In the example, only the first two times are indicated with a comma (release) and a damp sign (damp) beamed as grace notes (as fast as possible). Two last commas indicate exactly the same technique but with short cut notation.

!

Strings are released and damped at different times. !

Rasping stick played at the edge of the guitar body. Always light and gentle.

Change the stick direction when needed. Keep changing the speed of the bowing - always gradual accel and rit with in one ¨bow¨.

Giggle / Cry Giggle like a child. Somewhat teasing but innocent. Discreet and almost unnoticeable. Somewhat mysterious and ghostly.

Gradually the giggling escalates to a character of obsession and desperation, and leads to a hysteric cry. The cry should not be an obvious cry but is something almost like giggling. The mixture of emotion and confusion with a strong sense of force and uncomfort. There is certain element of absurdity but should be avoided to minimum.

Do not theatrically act or literally cry with tears. Focus on the sound and the sense of mystery.

Piano Grand piano with 3 pedals.

Note head Black note head (¨●¨) Normal playing with pitch.

Diamond note head (¨♢¨) Press the keys silently without letting the hammer touch the strings.

Pedal Sostenuto ¨middle¨ pedal

The sostenuto pedal gives important resonance to all actions (or non-action) and should be observed exactly.

¨Right¨ pedal All percussive use of the right pedal should be observed exactly (indicated with arrows and sfz nuances).

Note that the pedal actions do not necessary support any activated keys/strings. The pedaling itself is the sound and gesture.

Percussive release of the pedal.

Do not lift the foot upwards, but quickly slide away to the side and let the pedal snap upwards.

If the pedal is not carried through from the previous phrase, silently press the pedal to prepare this action.

Percussive pedaling down and up as fast as possible.

Percussive pedaling down.

Hold the pedal until the line ends.

If the repeated pedal release actions are not suited, change to repeated pedaling down.

Key release The performer is often asked to press keys silently and keep the fingers until the release ¨con forza¨, notated with a comma and sfz.

The action of finger releasing (comma) should be as rhythmical as possible. Violently and quickly remove the finger / hand from the key(s) upward.

The tiny sound of the piano mechanics and the finger movement, enhanced by the visual movement of the hands, should be ¨audible¨.

Cluster (2 lines connecting 2 notes without diagonal fill in)

(2 lines connecting 2 notes with diagonal fill in)

White key cluster

Chromatic cluster

!

Small and quick series of glissandi

Series of small and quick glissandi from the given pitches on the keys.

Always articulate the main note and the glissandi should be light and momental.

The gesture should be highly explosive and unpredictable with irregular rhythm.

End It is important that the 4 bar phrase is steady in tempo and strictly rhythmical.

Gradually drop notes or pedal actions except the material in the dotted circles.

Less and less action with continuous diminuendo.

Notice that the sostenuto pedal is always activated.

Spring drum A thin spring drum that is possible to make wawa effect with palm.

The first part: Try to keep the tremolo (shaking in ppp) as static as possible.

As the result, any unsteadiness and disturbance occur due to the other actions such as piano playing and pedaling are considered acceptable as the colourisation of physicality of the piece. In any case, the spring drum should be kept as the background and the piano foreground (even almost silent actions).

Prepare a soft blanket or pillow to put the spring drum on when it is not needed.

Plunger

! !

Plunger with thin and flexible bell.

Crumple a piece of small aluminum foil, and place it at the bottom of a plastic bucket. Place a tiny bit of water.

Squeeze the plunger up and down the water and the foil. Adjust the amount of water so that the plunger makes a very watery disguisting sucking noise without getting stuck.

The plunger part is graphically notated.