Double Percussion Concerto No. 1

Description

Written in 2014 for the “Festival de Musica Contemporanea de Tenerife” in Spain and dedicated to Tuopali Duo (Paco Díaz & Charli Llacer).

The concerto consists of three movements. The first movement starts with strings presenting passionate, heavy and fundamental thematic material. It is later used in the first entrance of the soloists with its melodic material performed on the vibraphone. At the beginning and the end of the opening section, the vibraphone uses very hard mallets to get violent and aggressive color. In the next sections the tension is gradually building up, with polyrhythmic constructions placed in the wood instruments with sustained, muted notes in the brass section. After the first, short “tutti” culmination the immediate exchange of roles between the wood and brass instruments emerges. In this time, soloists have irregular rhythmic constructions in a very fast motion, melting together with the massive sound of the orchestra. The next section brings the contemplation to the movement. It starts with the solo of the wood instruments followed by the soloists who take the lead together with strings and flutes. Till the end of the movement the opening motive comes back several times in different combinations and coloristic versions.

The second movement can be described as more abstract, more disturbing and more demanding. The movement is opened by percussion soloists with the use of amplified thunder sheet instrument which will produce very dark, “scary like” sounds surrounded by other percussive effects. The similar idea will finish the movement. Besides the beginning and the end, the soloists are using marimba and vibraphone in the entire movement.

The third movement, the final, starts in a very “classical” and humoristic musical narration creating a huge contrast with the previous movement.  In time it gets more tensed and serious with a lot of rhythmical power.