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The overture to Johann Strauss II’s comic operetta Die Fledermaus is a favorite of audiences everywhere and a staple in modern orchestral repertoire. In Die Fleder-rag, Stephen Primatic has arranged the themes from Strauss’ overture as a jaunty and rousing ragtime for percussion ensemble.
Despite Strauss being dubbed the “Waltz King” there are no waltzes in this rendition. Written for six mallet keyboard instruments and three percussion parts, this entertaining piece for intermediate percussion ensemble sounds as if it could have been originally conceived this way. This makes Primatic’s arrangement that much more unique, and a testament to his creativity in percussion.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Glockenspiel
• Xylophone
• Vibraphone
• 2 marimbas—(1) 4-octave, (1) low C
• Drums (snare drum, kick drum)
• Cymbals (splash cymbal, suspended cymbal)
• Accessories (woodblocks (2), tambourine, triangle)
This is a fun, entertaining, and successful play on the familiar melodies of “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss. While listeners might expect triple-based treatments of the original source material, Stephen Primatic effectively reimagines the music into a duple-based adventure with plenty of syncopated licks one might expect from a xylophone rag. And while most rag pieces require players to dance all over the instrument through strings of connected arpeggiated figures, Primatic is able to create the same type of ambiance by utilizing simple syncopations and a lot of interplay between the xylophone player and the rest of the ensemble.
Unlike traditional ragtime arrangements for percussion, the xylophone is not the only instrument featured in this 41⁄2-minute piece. While there are certainly phrases and turns that highlight the xylophone player, there also exist many instances where other instruments double, reinforce, or reply to the xylophone notes with just as much activity and liveliness. Additionally, there is a fully fleshed-out percussion section, as opposed to a drum set player. This, along with the added mallet instruments, combine to create a full-sounding adventure through multiple waves of melodic ideas, harmonic shifts, and a variety of tonal areas that will surely engage audience members, as well as the players themselves.
—Joshua D. Smith
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 2, April 2020
The overture to Johann Strauss II’s comic operetta Die Fledermaus is a favorite of audiences everywhere and a staple in modern orchestral repertoire. In Die Fleder-rag, Stephen Primatic has arranged the themes from Strauss’ overture as a jaunty and rousing ragtime for percussion ensemble.
Despite Strauss being dubbed the “Waltz King” there are no waltzes in this rendition. Written for six mallet keyboard instruments and three percussion parts, this entertaining piece for intermediate percussion ensemble sounds as if it could have been originally conceived this way. This makes Primatic’s arrangement that much more unique, and a testament to his creativity in percussion.
This piece comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
• Glockenspiel
• Xylophone
• Vibraphone
• 2 marimbas—(1) 4-octave, (1) low C
• Drums (snare drum, kick drum)
• Cymbals (splash cymbal, suspended cymbal)
• Accessories (woodblocks (2), tambourine, triangle)
This is a fun, entertaining, and successful play on the familiar melodies of “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss. While listeners might expect triple-based treatments of the original source material, Stephen Primatic effectively reimagines the music into a duple-based adventure with plenty of syncopated licks one might expect from a xylophone rag. And while most rag pieces require players to dance all over the instrument through strings of connected arpeggiated figures, Primatic is able to create the same type of ambiance by utilizing simple syncopations and a lot of interplay between the xylophone player and the rest of the ensemble.
Unlike traditional ragtime arrangements for percussion, the xylophone is not the only instrument featured in this 41⁄2-minute piece. While there are certainly phrases and turns that highlight the xylophone player, there also exist many instances where other instruments double, reinforce, or reply to the xylophone notes with just as much activity and liveliness. Additionally, there is a fully fleshed-out percussion section, as opposed to a drum set player. This, along with the added mallet instruments, combine to create a full-sounding adventure through multiple waves of melodic ideas, harmonic shifts, and a variety of tonal areas that will surely engage audience members, as well as the players themselves.
—Joshua D. Smith
Percussive Notes
Vol. 58, No. 2, April 2020
