Ten Little Things
for clarinet and piano (2015) Duration: 25:00
Recorded by Matthew Nelson (clarinet) and Greg Byrne (percussion)
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Four excerpts performed by Matthew Nelson (clarinet) and Greg Byrne (percussion)
Large, multi-movement percussion setups are popular, and it seems the bigger, the better. While I appreciate the variety and range of resources at the composer's disposal, I often tire of hearing "all of the instruments" "all of the time."
In part as a response to these giant percussion setups, but in part as a personal challenge, I thought it might be interesting to create a multi-movement work in which each movement uses only one percussion instrument, including some less loved and more limited instruments. Initially, I sketched ideas for four or five such movements, trying to let the instruments suggest their own music, so to speak. This was such fun that I gradually expanded the number of movements. Ten Little Things is about twenty-five minutes long, with each of the movements approximately the same duration.
Ten Little Things was composed for clarinetist Matthew Nelson and percussionist Greg Byrne for a Spring 2015 premiere and recording at the University of Louisville (Kentucky), where we are all colleagues at the School of Music.
The titles and percussion instrumentation of the movements of Ten Little Things are listed below; all of the movements include clarinet. I leave it to each percussionist to determine the preferred arrangement of instruments. The movements are related, though they are also designed to stand alone. Only movements #5 The Wheel and #6 The Sense are suggested to be played attacca.
TEN LITTLE THINGS
1. The Sight - concert bass drum
2. The Nature - chimes (tubular bells)
3. The Charm - four cowbells (high to low)
4. The Wall - vibraphone (almost exclusively bowed)
5. The Wheel - snare drum with wire brushes
6. The Sense - tambourine
7. The Heaven - crotales (two octave range, sounding two octaves higher)
8. The Ball - congas (high-low)
9. The Cloud - low flexatone
10. The Fantasy - vibraphone (with mallets)
– Steve Rouse