O'Regan FRAGMENTS FROM A GRADUAL PROCESS

OnDemand

O'Regan, Tarik Fragments from a Gradual Process

Score for sale (North America): http://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=14023803 Score for sale (UK, Europe and other territories): http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/00410398/details.html?kbid=1296 Information about the work and materials for hire: http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/14721

Score begins on the next page.

Novello & Co Limited Part of the Music Sales Group

Fragments from a Gradual Process Duration 7 minutes

Programme Notes Fragments from a Gradual Process was commissioned by ensemblebash. The work was premiered by the commissioners, with violinist Madeleine Mitchell, on 21 April 2005 in Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton.

When I was asked to compose a piece as a concert-partner for Lou Harrison’s

Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra (or Koncherto por la Violono Kun Perkuta Orkestra, its official title in the Esperanto of which he was such a fervent advocate during his life), I was keen to write the antithesis of a concerto; I sought to create something that would involve all the players equally, performing strictly as one unit. Two very different examples of this attitude came to mind: the brief moment at the end of Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale (1918), where the violin blends into the percussion for a few seconds before vanishing and Steve Reich’s early-1970s loopbased compositions, Clapping Music and Six Pianos, written immediately after his trip to Ghana, where he studied drumming.

It seemed logical to allow the influence of Reich’s modern-day hocketing and Ghanaian-infused rhythmic ambiguities to permeate the periphery of my own piece as I already knew that the musical culture of Ghana is at the heart of ensemblebash. In addition, I decided to give a ‘nod’ to Stravinsky in the very opening violin chord, forming the basis of the first section which gradually shrinks with each of its three reoccurrences. While the background pulse remains constant (q = 252), the use of accenting and modulated time signatures creates a permanently shifting beat which is itself affixed to a broad sectional arrangement not dissimilar to a classical rondo.

It was interesting for me to watch how a completely new composition grew out of such geographically, musically and ideologically disparate stimuli. However, as Steve Reich wrote in his 1968 seminal essay, Music as a Gradual Process, ‘all music turns out to be ethnic music’.

Performance Notes Fragments from a Gradual Process is very much conceived as a quintet, rather than a concerto for violin with percussion accompaniment. For reasons of balance, it may be necessary to place the violinist in front of the four percussionists; however, this must not affect the intrinsic musical equality of the five performers. The instrumentation includes two pentatonic Ghanaian xylophones; their use is optional, and passages written for both instruments can be played on the one marimba required elsewhere in the score. Any ‘sticking’ examples in the percussion parts are suggestions only; no bowing marks are included in the violin part.

Tarik O’Regan Cambridge, Massachusetts February, 2005

Instrumentation solo violin percussion I vibraphone glockenspiel large tam-tam three gongs (of different sizes) gong 1

gong 2

gong 3

tam-tam

percussion II marimba Ghanaian xylophone (optional, can use marimba instead) Ghanaian xylophone pitches (optional low ‘G’ needed for percussion IV only)

percussion III triangle (hand-held) suspended cymbal (16” – 18”) hi-hat tambourine three cowbells (of different sizes) wood block two bongos maracas wood block

low bongo

high bongo

triangle

tamb.

hi-hat

sus. Cym

cowbell 2

cowbell 1

maracas

cowbell 3

percussion IV Ghanaian xylophone (optional, can share percussion I marimba instead) triangle (with stand) snare drum four tom-toms (of different sizes) bass drum (with stand, or use pedal bass drum) tom-tom 1

snare drum

tom-tom 2

tom-tom 4

tom-tom 3

triangle

bass drum

FRAGMENTS FROM A GRADUAL PROCESS for Madeleine Mitchell and ensemblebash

TARIK O'REGAN

Fast h = 126 (q = 252)

Violin

              f

mallets   hard   Percussion I         f

very dry, no pedal

 

    















        





    





           





     

VIBRAPHONE*

RH



       

                 

sim.

LH (use four mallets, as above)

GHANAIAN XYLOPHONE**

          hard mallets

Percussion II

f

RH



       



sim.

LH (use four mallets, as above)

TWO BONGOS

sticks

Percussion III

       







        











       





f ***

FOUR TOM-TOMS

          snare drum sticks

Percussion IV

f ***

* Vibraphone motor to be switched on and set to a medium speed throughout. ** If the instrument is not readily available, passages for the Ghanaian xylophone can be played on a marimba. *** Players III and IV, while adhering to the dynamics, should always make sure the violin and pitched percussion (predominantly players I and II) are audible. © Copyright 2005 Novello & Company Limited

  

HI-HAT

    

         

43

Vln.

  

  

  

               

           

             Perc. I            

Perc. II

Perc. III

   

  

  

          

  

          

         

ff

       

   

5

        

   

   



ff

                                

                        

                                 

            l.v.   

    

    Perc. IV               

    

ff

     

ff

    



        

ff

C

     

(q=q) 46 Vln.

 



[4+3] sffz

Perc. I

   [4+3]

pizz.

l.v.

    mp

    LH



         

 

(use four mallets, as above)

 



  



 

 

   







sim.

 

                

                                   p use pedal as necessary

RH

Perc. II



l.v.

         

 

















[4+3] sffz

Perc. III

 



SUS. CYM.

[4+3] sffz

 Perc. IV   



[4+3] sffz

 

l.v.

RIM SHOT

  



turn snares off a.s.a.p. pp subito







  









  







F

10

    (q=q)

73

Vln.

   

  

 

   

  

 



 



  

  

 

[4+3] f VIBRAPHONE

four hard mallets, as before                                    Perc. I             [4+3] ff use pedal as necessary

Perc. II

                                                          [4+3] ff

 

        [hi-hat]

Perc. III

  

  

  

  

  

 

       

  

  

  

 

f

Perc. IV

    [4+3] f

[s. d.] snares on

     

     

76

Vln.

Perc. I

Perc. II

Perc. III

Perc. IV

     

     



 

  

  

 





 



  

 





 



   



  

   

  

 



                        

       

        

            

                          

  

         

  

  

  

  

    





  

 

  

  

       

  



  

79

Vln.



 



  



  

   



 



 

 







 

  

 

11

    Perc. I 

               

                             



  

               

                          

  

  

  

Perc. II

Perc. III

Perc. IV



  

    

    

82

Vln.

Perc. I

 

     

  

  

     

  







 

   



  

  

 

  





  

    

        

(q=q)

 

mf

  



Perc. II

f

                                    p 



  

     

     

    

 





 

 

   f

     

GHANAIAN XYLOPHONE



f

subito

  l.v.                     p

molto Perc. IV   

  

subito

subito

molto

Perc. III

     

                                                                mf

 

      

 

mf

molto

f

subito

              f turn snares off

subito

18

L 

mf

Perc. I





[tam-tam]







Perc. III

 



 

 







  

Perc. II

  



  





  



























   



   







  



  











   





[ pp ]

148





   



mp

Perc. I



                                       

   Perc. IV 

Vln.



[ pp ](sempre l.v.)

mp



[3 gongs]



  

Perc. II



sim.

  



  





Vln.

pizz. quasi chitarra

   

143



  







   









 



 





 

















   



  







  





  

M  



 





 

















   



  



 









 

[bongos] hands p

                                                                

Perc. III

[ pp ]

Perc. IV



 





   





  





   





  







23 193



Vln.

Perc. I





















                                   

Perc. II

























Perc. III

Perc. IV







198

Vln.

 

P           



f subito

Perc. I



 





                   f







       

   





         

   

VIBRAPHONE

 

      



hard mallets

f subito



very dry, no pedal

Perc. II

Perc. III

    







 

  



f subito [bongos] sticks

    





f subito

   

        

[cowbells]

         

FOUR TOM-TOMS ETC.

  Perc. IV 

turn snares on





    

snare drum sticks



f subito





        

[b. d.]

    

   

24 202

Vln.

                                 

           Perc. I         

Perc. II

Perc. III

                

 

                                   



                  



                     

[hi-hat]   [w. b.]                         

[tamb.]

    Perc. IV        

      

 



                    

                     [s. d.] snares on

    

 



                                                

  Perc. I    



                



          

    



                     



               

206

Vln.

Perc. II

Perc. III

Perc. IV

                                                    

              





      

T

30

   

   

(q=q)

240

Vln.

  

 

   

  

 



 



  

  

 

[4+3] f VIBRAPHONE

four hard mallets, as before                                    Perc. I             [4+3] ff use pedal as necessary

Perc. II

                                                        [4+3] ff

 

       

  

[hi-hat]

Perc. III

  

  

  

  

 

       

  

  

  

 

f

Perc. IV

[s. d.] snares on

   

     

[4+3] f

   

243

Vln.

Perc. I

Perc. II

Perc. III

Perc. IV



 



 





 



 



  



 

 

  

  



 

   



 



    



      

    



       

    



       

   



         

    



       

    



            





 

  

 

  

  

  

   

  

  

  

   



  





  

 

  

  

  

   



  



  

283

Vln.

Perc. I

Perc. II

Perc. III











pizz.



mf

 

W arco       

35

  

l.v.





                                                                       

                       

  l.v.  





[triangle (hand-held)] triangle beater Perc. IV



290

Vln.

Perc. I

Perc. II







 

 

arco

 



pizz.

 

l.v.



                 

mp

 









 

l.v.

Perc. IV



                                                                                   [sus. cym] timpani sticks

Perc. III

 

arco

pizz.

 

      

 l.v. 

mf









                       

 l.v. 





           

364

Vln.



 Perc. I 

Perc. II

Perc. III

 

 





  

 



      



 

 



 



                       ff subito          

ff subito

                        ff subito                3

[tamb. and bongos] stick handles

        

ff subito

       

Perc. IV





   

   

    Perc. I       Perc. II

        

ff subito

    

369

Vln.



                   

        

[s. d.] (snares off)

41

           

        

                              

        

          [b. d.]

        

FOUR TOM-TOMS ETC.

snare drum sticks



(q=q)

            

   

                 

                                                           

  

 



 



sffz

 

 

sffz

SUS. CYM. NAT.

        

      

  Perc. IV          

         

Perc. III



timp. sticks nat.

                   

    

sffz

   

sffz

Cambridge, Mass., February, 2005