Matre's Dance For Percussion Ensemble (Preview)

utilising wooden keyboard percussion instruments in lieu of the piano. The vibraphone
voice is added throughout to bring out melodic lines where precise control of note
length is necessary. As such, note lengths and articulation markings should be strictly
observed during these sections. However, care should also be taken to blend all keyboard
instruments throughout to create a single unified sonority.
Since much of the original piano part exists in the extreme high and low ends of the
instrument, numerous accommodations had to be made to fit within the range of
keyboard percussion instruments. However, a deliberate attempt was made to capture the
tonal character of those unavailable pitches. Unison playing is used extensively in the low
register of the marimba to emulate the grit and thickness of the low piano strings and the
addition of the xylophone captures of brilliant attack of the highest notes. Any interpretive
decisions made by performers to capture these qualities through mallet selection, stage
set-up, amplification and more are welcomed.
Matre’s Dance was commissioned by Jack Body (with financial support from Creative
New Zealand), receiving its premiere performance from David Guerin (piano) and Bruce
McKinnon (percussion) in Wellington, New Zealand, in April of 1991. This arrangement has
been recorded by Carmenates and members of the JP3 Ensemble (Tommy Dobbs, Melinda
Leoce, Justin Lamb and Luis Rivera) for the 2016 Rattle Records release entitled The John
Psathas Percussion Project: Volume One.
Performance notes
Solo Percussion
Two alternative set-ups are possible
• (a) to be played with semi-hard marimba mallets
/
˛ ˛ ˛ ˛ ˛ ˛
high bongo
(general pitch)
high tom-tom
(general pitch)
medium tom-tom
low tom-tom
(general pitch)
(general pitch)
timpano
tuned to C
timpano
tuned to A
/
˛ ˛ ˛ ˛ ˛ ˛
• (b) to be played with drum sticks
highest roto-tom
(general pitch)
high tom-tom
medium tom-tom
(general pitch)
(general pitch)
low tom-tom
(general pitch)
low roto-tom
(general pitch)
lowest roto-tom
(general pitch)
PE182S – vi