|
Gorilla in a Cage - Chamber Version
for two Percussion and two Pianos
Adapted from the Concerto Evelyn Glennie, percussion solo Jonathan Hass, percussion Philip Smith, piano Kathy Supové, piano 25 minutes |
|
| |
|
Gorilla in a Cage is dedicated to the composer's aunt Edna Freedman who died of ovarian cancer at the time of the work's inception. The title comes from a psychic's remarks about the same aunt two years before her death. She said, ''All I see is the image of a gorilla in a cage. She's fighting like mad. She's relentless as hell. She's not going to make it.'' It is, however, decidedly not a requiem. The 25 minute work opens with the soloist singing a capella. At the work's end, she ascends a platform to sing as she plays the bass chimes. This use of the voice acts as a bridge to the composer's operas. Unusual instruments like the Batonka - a two-octave set of tuned PVC tubes played with a foam slapper - are featured alongside more traditional mallet instruments and drums. Throughout, instruments usually associated with melody play drum-like figures, and the drums are used for their melodic possibilities. While the soloist's part remains largely unchanged, the orchestra is replaced by two pianos and one percussionist. What was a virtuosic concerto now becomes a true ensemble work. What's lost in instrumental color and heft is made up for in relentless singularity. | |