Cart is empty
Lisa Ann Marsh’s Changing Winds takes its influence from the turbulence of the fall of 2016, where “from climate change to political upheaval, we [were] confronted with shifts and changes that challenge[d] our stability.” This piece was Lisa’s attempt to show sentiments in a changing world, “ever dynamic, yet always strong and hopeful.’’
Each player in this quartet has an independent role and their musical stories develop as the piece progresses. The uncertainty at the beginning traverses the ambiguous and chaotic, finally coalescing as the four players find their rhythm with one another, creating a portrait of unity and peace out of what was once so tumultuous and unpredictable.
Changing Winds was premiered by the Portland State University Percussion Ensemble on June 16th, 2017 at the Lou Harrison Centennial Festival.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• 1 glockenspiel
• Xylophone
• 2 marimbas—(1) low A, (1) low F
• Cymbals & gongs (suspended cymbal, crash cymbal, large tam-tam, medium tam-tam)
• Accessories (woodblock, mark tree, tambourine, claves, triangle)
“Changing Winds” is an interesting 51⁄2-min- ute piece influenced by climate change and 2016’s “political upheaval.” It is appropriate for advanced high school and younger college ensembles.
The piece begins with players quietly bowing tam-tams and a cymbal, suggesting that national discord is brewing. Other voices enter gradually, shifting from an ethereal texture to a steady sixteenth-note pulse that lays the foundation for the rest of the mildly dissonant piece. The rhythms are all simple, although there are a few brief 3:2 and 4:3 polyrhythms established between members of the ensemble, making this piece pedagogically relevant as an introduction to the concept. Four-mallet proficiency is required for the xylophone and marimba parts, but with nothing faster than sixteenth notes at 92 beats per minute, it’s still approachable for those new to four-mallet playing.
In a vacuum, this work is musically satisfying with interesting timbres and interplay between the individuals in the ensemble. However, when paired with its program notes, the piece and the sentiments it is attempting to convey come off as muted and watered down, as it stops far short of accurately depicting the outrage, concern, and uncertainty that many people feel concerning the topics of its inspiration. Omit the program notes and you’re left with a fine pedagogical option to assign to young and developing ensembles. Check it out and see if it’s right for your group.
—Brian Elizondo
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 1, February 2020
Lisa Ann Marsh’s Changing Winds takes its influence from the turbulence of the fall of 2016, where “from climate change to political upheaval, we [were] confronted with shifts and changes that challenge[d] our stability.” This piece was Lisa’s attempt to show sentiments in a changing world, “ever dynamic, yet always strong and hopeful.’’
Each player in this quartet has an independent role and their musical stories develop as the piece progresses. The uncertainty at the beginning traverses the ambiguous and chaotic, finally coalescing as the four players find their rhythm with one another, creating a portrait of unity and peace out of what was once so tumultuous and unpredictable.
Changing Winds was premiered by the Portland State University Percussion Ensemble on June 16th, 2017 at the Lou Harrison Centennial Festival.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• 1 glockenspiel
• Xylophone
• 2 marimbas—(1) low A, (1) low F
• Cymbals & gongs (suspended cymbal, crash cymbal, large tam-tam, medium tam-tam)
• Accessories (woodblock, mark tree, tambourine, claves, triangle)
“Changing Winds” is an interesting 51⁄2-min- ute piece influenced by climate change and 2016’s “political upheaval.” It is appropriate for advanced high school and younger college ensembles.
The piece begins with players quietly bowing tam-tams and a cymbal, suggesting that national discord is brewing. Other voices enter gradually, shifting from an ethereal texture to a steady sixteenth-note pulse that lays the foundation for the rest of the mildly dissonant piece. The rhythms are all simple, although there are a few brief 3:2 and 4:3 polyrhythms established between members of the ensemble, making this piece pedagogically relevant as an introduction to the concept. Four-mallet proficiency is required for the xylophone and marimba parts, but with nothing faster than sixteenth notes at 92 beats per minute, it’s still approachable for those new to four-mallet playing.
In a vacuum, this work is musically satisfying with interesting timbres and interplay between the individuals in the ensemble. However, when paired with its program notes, the piece and the sentiments it is attempting to convey come off as muted and watered down, as it stops far short of accurately depicting the outrage, concern, and uncertainty that many people feel concerning the topics of its inspiration. Omit the program notes and you’re left with a fine pedagogical option to assign to young and developing ensembles. Check it out and see if it’s right for your group.
—Brian Elizondo
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 1, February 2020
