Dirge for Lost Ideals

Instrumentation: Percussion Quartet

Recording: Reading by Percussion Quartet: Robert Dillon, Sean Connors, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore; May 7, 2016

Duration: 8.5 minutes

Program Notes:

Dirge for Lost Ideals begins with a vibraphone playing a lyrical melody as the percussionists hum in the background. The interaction between the percussionists playing “traditional” instruments versus utilizing their voices becomes more prominent throughout the work, as the percussionists begin to sing full on. The singing switches to shouting as the percussionists also shift to the more percussive sharper attacking instruments during a particularly aggressive section. The piece concludes with the opening lyrical melody re-harmonized as a chorale. One by one, each of the four percussionists moves to the vibraphone. The piece concludes with all four percussionists playing two vibraphones (two percussionists per vibraphone.) They all play block cluster chords, creating a wash of sound similar to an organ.