Portrait Sequence (Blanching Out)

for percussion duo

Jacob Gotlib

© 2012

INSTRUMENTATION

Percussion ITwo tom-toms (Low and High)

Two bongos (Low and High)Textured glass plate

Percussion IITwo tom-toms (Low and High)

Two congas (Low and High)Two ceramic tiles

Duration: approx. 9’

Program Notes:Portrait Sequence (Blanching Out) is built around the question, what would happen if we did not strike percussion instruments, but instead allowed them to vocalize? Although it turns out that they can’t sing very well, with an affectionate touch, they can growl, snarl, wheeze, gasp, moan, and croak. Instruments that seemed literally far removed from innate, bodily music-making -- that were only as useful as far as they could be hit with a foot-long stick -- become prostheses for primal expression: visceral, ghastly, and heaving, but also fluent, articulate, and sensitive.

This piece was commissioned by and dedicated to the Crossfire Percussion Duo, Jason Bauers and Bob Fullex. It would have been impossible for me to write this piece alone. It’s rare that a composer gets to enjoy such a close collaboration, and I am deeply grateful to them for the countless hours of meetings, recordings, sight-readings through terrible sketches, and harried last-minute rehearsals over the course of many months that brought this music to fruition.

Notes on Performance and Instrumentation:The sounds in this piece are produced by dragging, scraping, and scratching with the fingers along the surface of the instruments. The performers should wear metal thimbles (obtainable in most craft or fabric supply stores) on the index or middle fingers of each hand. These will not only help reduce strain and damage to fingernails, but will help amplify and sharpen the sounds.

The gestures are performed by scraping in a circular motion around the perimeter of the instrument, but not quite at its edge. Sudden scratches (see below) are best performed by quickly scraping in a radius from the perimeter towards the center of the instrument and back. Dynamics and volume are a function of speed: accelerate the dragging motion to crescendo, and slow down to decrescendo. On some thimbles, an optimum sound is achieved by using the entire tip, and on others, it is best to use just the edge; performers should experiment with what sounds best and is most comfortable.

The drum sounds in this piece should be deep, guttural, and raspy -- roughness and granularity are essential qualities. Therefore, it is important to use drum heads that are as textured as possible. While this should not typically pose problems for bongos and congas, tom-tom heads that are old, worn down, or too smooth will produce a sound that is too whispery. Because the texture on drum heads wears out quickly during rehearsals, it is recommended to replace the heads on all the drums before a performance. If possible, the low and high tom-toms between each player should be different sizes, i.e. Percussion I’s low tom-tom should not be identical to Percussion II low’s tom-tom, etc. This will help to individuate each player.

Besides the drums, each performer has an auxiliary instrument: Percussion I uses a textured glass plate and Percussion II uses a pair of ceramic tiles. Specific dimensions for these are not important, but performers are encouraged to experiment with what is available, provided that the surfaces of the

instruments are sufficiently rough. For the premiere performance and recording, Percussion I used a 14.75” x11.75” glass cutting board and Percussion II used two 7.5”x7.5” tiles. While the glass plate is played in the same way as the drums, by scraping across the surface with the fingers, the tiles employ a different technique: place one tile on a flat surface, such as a music stand, and use the corner of the second tile to scrape across the surface of the first tile.

Many of the sounds in this piece are very quiet, and it is crucial that the texture and graininess of the sounds be audible. Depending on the performance venue, amplification may be necessary; if so, take care not to over-amplify and distort the acoustic sound of the instruments. An ideal live mic’ing setup is one small-diaphragm condenser mic per player, situated between the tom-toms and bongos/congas, pointing upwards from underneath the setup. Be sure to use two loudspeakers, positioned on either side of each player. The spacing of the speakers may depend on the hall and the performers’ location on the stage.

Stage Layout:Due to the necessity of precise rhythmic alignment, the performers should position themselves onstage as close to each other as possible. Each performer’s setup should mirror the other’s, so that they are facing each other within close proximity (separated by music stands). This physical and visual closeness will also heighten the dramatic intensity of the music.

Notation Notes I -- Basic Sound Types:The piece’s sonic vocabulary consists primarily of swells, scratches, and drones, all of which are notated in some combination of large and small noteheads. For swells, a large notehead indicates the peak of the swell at the designated dynamic level; the small noteheads indicate the lengths of the crescendo towards the swell and partially the descrescendo away from it. The beginnings of all crescendoes and the endings of all decrescendos are at pp. Since the peak of a swell does not have a measurable length, the durations of the large notes are chosen for rhythmic simplicity -- the peak of the swell occurs at the “front” of the large note, and a decrescendo begins immediately after the peak is hit. Therefore, the decrescendo occupies the majority of the length of the large note and the small note to which it is tied. The following is an example:

A scratch is like a swell, but without a crescendo to and decrescendo away from a peak. It is a steady state with a sudden outburst. In this case, the small noteheads represent a “noise floor” (see drone) -- a steady pp which is interrupted by the scratch. To graphically differentiate a scratch from a swell, the large noteheads are marked with a marcato sign. Just as for the swell, the scratch itself has an incredibly short duration; therefore, the large note represents only where the onset of the scratch occurs -- the rest of its duration is a noise floor pp, which is usually continued by the small notehead that follows it. The following is an example:

Occasionally, the performers will encounter a scratch with a short tie that is not connected to another note. This means to scratch at the onset of the large note, and continue with a pp noise floor for the rest of its duration. This is a way of keeping the notation from becoming too cumbersome. The following is an example:

The performers will also find instances in which the peak of a swell or scratch happens at the very beginning or ending of a phrase. For a swell, this is depicted by the lack of a crescendo before the peak or decrescendo after a peak; for a scratch, this is depicted by a large notehead at the beginning of a phrase or the lack of the above-mentioned short tie at the end of a phrase. The following are some examples:

Finally, a drone consists simply of a long, sustained noise floor, like a scratch without the outburst. They are depicted by small noteheads of long durations and are always at pp. The sound should be as dynamically flat and uniform as possible, like a quiet hiss or hum. The following is an example:

Notation Notes II -- Embellishments:The basic sound types described above are often embellished in three ways, primarily on small noteheads:

Swirl: With the finger, trace continuously twisting curves on the surface of the instrument. Keep the dynamic level at a constant pp, but allow slight fluctuations due to the changing motion. The speed of the gesture can vary depending on the context, but should be fast enough to feel active and allow the fluctuations to be heard, yet slow enough that it feels placid and not agitated. It may be helpful for the performer to imagine slowly signing their own name in cursive on the instrument.

Stutter: Create tiny interruptions and glitches in the continuity of the gesture, so that a smooth motion splits into short, choppy bursts. The sound is similar to side-chained noise gate or granulation in electronic music. It may be helpful for the performer to dig their finger into the instrument to interrupt the gesture, as if pumping the brakes on a car. It is very important to maintain constant forward motion throughout the stutter -- do not move back and forth.

Shake: Scratch back and forth rapidly for the duration of the note, like an unmeasured tremolo.

!

"

q = 75

A

ppp

ff

ff f mf f mf mp

mf

ppp

ff

ff mf f mp

mf

pp

!! "!#

for the Crossfire Percussion Duo

Portrait Sequence (Blanching Out)

Jacob Gotlib

# Bongos (High and Low)

Glass Plate

#!

Percussion I

Tom-Toms (High and Low)

! ! $ %% 33 3 3

#

#Percussion II Congas (High and Low)

Ceramic Tiles

#!

Tom-Toms (High and Low)

! ! $%%5 5 5 5

& & ' ( ###( ( ( & & ( ###( ( ' & &' ( ( ( ()$ * ( (+ ( ( ( (,( $ ((- (- ( '( $ ) .(

) + ,( $

& & & ( ( $ ###( ' & ' $ (###( ( & ' $( $ ) + * +)$ ( ( *( ( $ ) ( ( ( ( ) +( ( $ ( *. ' ' $ * )$ (

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

12

p

pf

f pp p

mp

pp mp

pp mf

p

p

pmf

mf p

mf

mp

p

p

mp mf mp mf

p p mp p

pp

p

!! "! !! #! !!$

$

$3 33 3

$

$

$55 5 5 5 5 5

5

% & ###' ' '& ###' () )

)( & ' '' ' '' &$ *' $'+ ' &' ' $ ' $$& ' (*) ' ) ) '+ ' '% '+ ' ' )

*' $ ' %' $ )', ' &$ ) ' $ '+ !' '& '

% ) )& ###' ( & ###' ') ' ) %

(' $ ' )' $ *% ' ' ) & ' ' ' $ ' & ) ' '&$ ' '' ' ' ' '' ' $ ' $ ') & '' &$ )' ' ' $ ',&$ ' ' ' '' & )'-!' ' '- ' ' & % %& ( $$ ) * ' '

2

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

20

pp f

mf f mp p

pp

mf f

ff

ff

mp mf

mp

p

mf

mf mp

p

p mf mp

p mp mp

f

mf mp p mp mf f f

mf

mp

f

mf f

f

mp

ff

f

!

!

!3 3

""

3 3 3

!

!

!"5 5

55 5 5 5

5 5

# $ % # & % % '# $ % # % #% % %'!% %%

!% %% # $#

!% % %( $$$% % % %( % %' & ##$$$% ' ) ' %% ' #%( !% )% $$$% % %% %% &%

!%!% %

% % #% ' #%!% % '#' % % !%$% % # %% %%*

!% %% % % % % ' #% ' ##) %* % % % %

!% ' #% % # % $$$% % %% % % ' )% % $$$% % % % % % % % $$$% % !% # )) #

' % % %$!

% % % %% # % % # '!% % $$$% %' % % % %%!% %% ' $$$%% %% # % $$$%(

3

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

p

q= 60

28

pp

f

f

p

mf pp

mp

pp

mp

pp

f

mf

mp pp p

pp

mp

mp

pp

!" "" !" "" #"$

* dashed slurs indicate an interrupted continuous motion -- do not change the direction of the scratches

$

$3

$

$ !

$

% & & #

' % ( ( ) ( ) ( ) & ( )#

( #!( ( (* $$$( #( % '# ' $$$( () % )# ($$$( ( ( # +%( ( !( ( ## +' '# % )# ( ( (,

' ) ( ( ( ( ( ( (!(

$$$( ) %( !( %( # ( ( !( ( + ( # - # ( ) ) ( $$$( (( ( + % +( # ( # $$$(* $$$( )# ' '( ) %)# ( $$$( ( ( !() $$$( ( ( ) ( (!( # ( !(( $$$( ( # +'( # $$$( ( # +

4

!

"

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

B

36

mf f

mf

p pp f

f mf mp mf

mp mf ppp pp

pp

pp f

fmf

!! "! !! #!$ $

$ $3 % %

$3

$! ! &

%3 5

3 3

$ $

$ $ '5 5 5

$! #

$$

! ! &&

( )!* (

!*+ * * * ,-* % &&&* ** % !* . /*

. (

) . * * . ) 0 , % * &&&* * * %, !*1 !,* * * &&&* *&&&* * % . ( (% ( - * %

!* * * &&&* * * ) .% * * % *&&&* &&&* % * * % * ) ( ) , , %

( -* % * * ,* % * * ,* !* !* )) 0 * &&&* * , , %* &&&* &&&* . ( ) ( ) . * * % . ( (% ( .% *

5

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

44

mp mf

mp

pp p

p

pp pp

p

mp p mf

pmf mp p

pp

p

mp mp mp mf

mfmp

p

mp p mp p mp

!! "! #! "! !!$

$3 3 % !

&'!

3 3

$3

& ' & &3

&

$

$% % % % % '

& & & &5 5 5 5

$&

%& ' &

5

& & &5

& & &5

& &5 5 5 5

( ) * *+ * ###* *,* $ ###** ) * !*) * * $

!

* $ , ( *+ - . (( ###*/ -

###* * * * $ ) ( * ) ( . ( , * $ 0!*

!* )$ .

* *+ !* !* * )$ .$ ###* * * * * . . ) * * ###*+ * *

0 ( * * * .$.$ .*###* * * .* * * * ( .$) * 0 $ .* $ ###*) ( .* * $ * . ) * * * ###* * ###* ###* * * * * * * * * *

* * * $ ,. ( ) * * ###* ) ( .$ . ###* .$* * 0 (. , *!*

!* * * * )$ , * * * * ) ,

!*

!* $ * * *) ) * *

6

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

p p

51

f mf p

p

f pp mp pp

pf

f mp

p

p

f pp mf

!" #"$

$ %& % ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '3 3 3

$ &3

%3

$* dashed slurs indicate an interrupted continuous motion -- do not change the direction of the scratches

$%&

% % ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

' ' ' ' ''

' '55

5

$&

(5 5 5

) * + + * ) * * #

, * # + + + + + + + + + - . ) + + + + + + + + + + - . .#

* + !+/ !+ !+/ + + + + , , *

) 0 + # + + -# + + # 0 0 + # + + -# + ## 0 0 + # + + - +

) ++ - )!*. + + + - . . + + )+ + + + + +0 + + + + ++ - )0 + +

+ + + $$$+ # + # $$$+ + + # + - ) .

7

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp

q = 90

58

mp

pp

mp

p

pp

mp

mp

mp p

mf

ppp

p

p

!! "! !! #! !! $!%

%&3

&5

!

3 3

%

%

% &' #

$

%

( ) * * %

+ )% ( ( ( ,&&&( %% +-, ( ,%&&&( ( &&&( ( &&&( ( *+ )% ( (. ( + ) ( (/ (

!(

!( %% -) ( % * %( )% * % ) ( ( ) +

+

,% ,!*

!( % -+( (

( % ) -( %( ( ) ( ( ( ) + , ,% , )% ( * % ( ) ( ( % (. ( %% -

+ ) ( &&&( ( ) , -( % &&&( 0(!* % +

+

+ -( % ( ( ( )% , ,%

8

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp

C

67

pp

ff

ff f

mf

mf

mf

mp f

pp

ff

ff mf f f mp

mf

f

mf

mf

f

f

!! "! !! #! "!$

$ !%&

'& '%

' '%

'%

5 5 55

$

$

$ ! &'&

% %3 ' '

% 3 %3

'

%

3 3

$

( ) ) # ) *

+ + ,, # !) - * ( *-# , , # , ,( - , !, #, # $$$, , # , ( *- * *# * *-# , , , (, # . * , ,$$$, ( - , , ,$$$, - (

+ + +, $$$, , ,$$$, $$$, ,$$$, $$$, # - ( , *,/ , , , ). !

, # !, !,, # , - ( *, - * (. , # ) #( - $$$, $$$,0 , ,, -# ,. , # ,, - ( (, - * - ,

9

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp

q= 50

75

mf f

p

p p

p

mf mp

mp

mf f

mf

p

p

mf mp p

f

mff

pp pp

p

p

f

f

mf

p

mf

mp f

!" #" "" $" #" ""%

% &' '

&'5 5

5 5

%&5 &5 &

' '3

3

%

%35 5

3

3

%3

( ) * + # * # ) ( ,

* * * * * # , ( $$$* ) $$$* $$$* ) ( , ,( * * * * )# ,) * ,* * !* ,* $$$*

,$$$* ) (#(# *, ,* * * * * ) , *) * ,

, (* * * ,

(# $$$* -* $$$* , , -* ,* *, *, * * *. * ( ,* ) ** ) (* * ( */ * ,* )

(# + * ) , ( , - * # * * ) * ) , (

* !*0 !* !* * # * ( $$$*

$$$* , ( ,( ) * *, * ,*/ * *, *( ) ,

(# ) $$$* $$$* ) (# - * # * ,*,* * (* # - , ( , *. *

10

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

82

f

f

ff

mp mf p

f f mf mf mf mf mf mf mf mf mf mf

mf

mf

mf mf

mf

mf

mf

mf mf

mf

mf

mf

mf mf

mf

mf

mf

mf mf

mf

mf

mf

f

mfmf

f ff

f

mf mf mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

mf

!" "" !"#

#$

%!

3

3 3

#5

3 3 3 3

5 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

3

3 3

3

3 3

3

3 3

3

3 3

3

3

3

3

#

# %5

#%

3

53 3 3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3 3

5

3 3 3

&' () ( &* ( * (( * &( * &(+ ( '* ( ( ( , # ( , &

' & -( ( # ( ( (* *!(!( ( () ( () ( () ( () ( () ( () ( (()

' () ( () (& (+() ((+ ( (() ( (+() ((+ ( (() ( (+() ((+ ( (() ( (+() ((+ ( (() ( (+ (() ( (+()

* ( ( , ( * &* ( ( '' ' & # (

( (+ ( ' '' &() ($$$(( * &( &(+ ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (+ (() ( (() ( (+ () ((+ ( () (& !(+

11

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp

q

p

=66

89

pp pp

mp

mp

mp

mp

p

f

pf

f

mf

mf

pppp

mp

mf

f f mp p pp

!" #" $" "" $"%

% !

%3

3

3

3 5

%

% !&35

5 3

%3

3 3 3

' () # ) ) *# ) ) # (() # ) ) * ' + ' () # ) ) ) *# ' + +# + *# )

' * ) , ) * ' ' ) - - , , - , # +#

)) * )* ) * '* ) ) * ' +# + ) ) )

!) #

!) # ('

' , ) ) ,

')'$$$) ) * '

$$$). )/ $$$) * ') * ' *# ) , +) ## '(+ ) - - - ) , # +#) * ) * ) * ,' *# ) ). )) *#

!) ) ) ) )/' ' )/ ) )/ , # , ) *$$$) *

12

!

"

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp p pp mp

D

99

p mf pp

pp p p p p pp

pp

!! "! !! #! !! $! !! #!% % &

% %

% & #% !

% % & ' ' '33

%3

%3

% %

( $ ) ( $$$ * + ,$ ) ( $ -$ - ,$ ) ) $ ) ) $ *-

- * ) $ ) + . + . ( ( $ ( -

- , ) $ ( $ ( $ . + ) $ , . ) ) ) )/ ) )/ ) ) $ , . - *) $ ( $ ) ,$

. , ) ) , .

13

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

p p p pp

109

pp

pp

pp pp

mp mp p p p pp

!" "" #"$ % %

3 35 3 3 3 3

$

$ !

5

$3

&3 33 5 3 3 3 3

$

$

'# ( ( ( ( # ( '# ) ' ( ( * ( ' ( ( ' ( ( ' ( ' ( ( ' ( ( '

))+ $$$( ##' !

( # $$$(!, - )

!( ' -

) ' ( , ( - ) - '# ( , , ) ' ( (!,

!( ' - )

'# ( ( ( # ( ## +- ) - (. ( ( (. ( ( - - (/ ( ( ' - ' ( ( ( ( ( ( ' ( ( ' ( ( ' ( ' ( ( ' ( ( '

14

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp

q= 75

118

pp pp

pppp

pp

pp pp

p

p

p

mp

mp

!" "" !" "" #"$

3 3

$

$

$3 3

$

$5 5

% & % % & % ' ### (

) ) % ' * * ) % + ' # ) *# * &# %

* ) & % + * ) % % & % & % ' % &#

% & % % & % ' ## &

* ) % ' * * ) % +

** %&# %$$$% % !%%$$$% % %% % #

$$$% # (

15

!

"

Perc. I

Perc. II

pp ppp

127

p

pp

p

p

pp

pp

pp ppp

p

!! "! #! !!$

3 % #3

$

$#

$ % #

$

$August 2011-March 2012 rev. April-May 2012 Buffalo, NY

& ' ( ( ' ( ) ) ) ) ) ) * $ &

&!( ( %%%(' (

!( $$ %%%( ' ( ((+ ( $$ !( , -* * $ ( $ '

& ( ( &

-$ ' ( ( * $ * $ & ) ) ) ) ) ) * $ &

( $ ( & -

16