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An apotheosis is the highest or best part of something. This Apotheosis by Alan Keown celebrates the senior recital of the composer’s son and was written expressly for that purpose. Composed for two identical setups, each consisting of bongos, two toms, bass drum, brake drum, and three splash cymbals (shared by both players), this medium-advanced duet is mostly through-composed. It opens with a meter map in a three-bar grouping of 7/8 + 7/8 + 3/8, which some may recognize as the meter from the Yes song, Changes. It touches on a calmer, softer section and moves through a few metric modulations before culminating with a bombastic ending.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
This multiple-percussion duet is an exciting blend of traditional duet drumming, contemporary split-part writing, and performance art. Written to be played on the composer’s son’s senior college recital and performed by the father and son duo, the piece provides—at least in my mind—an interesting musical and familial dynamic. The old adage “like father, like son” can be seen throughout the piece as ideas present themselves often in unison, then diverge into differing split parts. (The video of the father-son performance illustrates how similar the motions are in the tandem playing between players.)
“Apotheosis” is scored for two identical setups and a shared splash cymbal. Rather than use a specific rhythmic melody, a sequence of repeating meters (7/8, 7/8, 3/8) creates the foundation for much of the piece. Initially, melodic and soloistic writing is layered over the established sequence. But as the complexity increases, the piece drives to a bombastic unison section that features intricate split parts. This approach governs much of the remaining portion of the composition.
Alan Keown’s creative writing and instrumentation concepts provide an outlet for so many different ideas that “Apotheosis” could carry on well past its five minutes. However, the piece’s brevity keeps it interesting and varied without becoming verbose or needlessly long. The contrast between loud, demonstrative passages and softer, more nuanced sections will help keep an audience thoughtfully engaged.
Idiomatically, Keown intelligently constructs patterns around the drums that, while challenging, are not impossible. Also, stickings are given in portions of the music to help the performers navigate some of the trickier spots or to indicate a certain texture in unison accent patterns.
Audience members who may not have a percussion or even musical background will enjoy witnessing the motions and finesse required to perform “Apotheosis,” which should be enjoyable for performers and audience members alike.
—Eric Rath
Percussive Notes
Vol. 53, No. 1, March 2015
An apotheosis is the highest or best part of something. This Apotheosis by Alan Keown celebrates the senior recital of the composer’s son and was written expressly for that purpose. Composed for two identical setups, each consisting of bongos, two toms, bass drum, brake drum, and three splash cymbals (shared by both players), this medium-advanced duet is mostly through-composed. It opens with a meter map in a three-bar grouping of 7/8 + 7/8 + 3/8, which some may recognize as the meter from the Yes song, Changes. It touches on a calmer, softer section and moves through a few metric modulations before culminating with a bombastic ending.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
This multiple-percussion duet is an exciting blend of traditional duet drumming, contemporary split-part writing, and performance art. Written to be played on the composer’s son’s senior college recital and performed by the father and son duo, the piece provides—at least in my mind—an interesting musical and familial dynamic. The old adage “like father, like son” can be seen throughout the piece as ideas present themselves often in unison, then diverge into differing split parts. (The video of the father-son performance illustrates how similar the motions are in the tandem playing between players.)
“Apotheosis” is scored for two identical setups and a shared splash cymbal. Rather than use a specific rhythmic melody, a sequence of repeating meters (7/8, 7/8, 3/8) creates the foundation for much of the piece. Initially, melodic and soloistic writing is layered over the established sequence. But as the complexity increases, the piece drives to a bombastic unison section that features intricate split parts. This approach governs much of the remaining portion of the composition.
Alan Keown’s creative writing and instrumentation concepts provide an outlet for so many different ideas that “Apotheosis” could carry on well past its five minutes. However, the piece’s brevity keeps it interesting and varied without becoming verbose or needlessly long. The contrast between loud, demonstrative passages and softer, more nuanced sections will help keep an audience thoughtfully engaged.
Idiomatically, Keown intelligently constructs patterns around the drums that, while challenging, are not impossible. Also, stickings are given in portions of the music to help the performers navigate some of the trickier spots or to indicate a certain texture in unison accent patterns.
Audience members who may not have a percussion or even musical background will enjoy witnessing the motions and finesse required to perform “Apotheosis,” which should be enjoyable for performers and audience members alike.
—Eric Rath
Percussive Notes
Vol. 53, No. 1, March 2015
