UVM Percussion Ensemble - Fall 2025
Compuesto Muchos – Toner       audio - UVM Percussion Ensemble, S19        
 
The Spanish word “compuesto” translates into English as “composite” or “composed” (it also can be used to indicate someone or something that is dressed up).  The piece was originally a quartet I wrote for the 2013 UVM Convocation, but was re-worked for a larger ensemble a few years later when the Convocation Percussion Ensemble grew in numbers.  The structure of the piece is incredibly flexible – almost every aspect of the form can be correctly interpreted many different ways.  For example, instrumentation is not dictated, although the composer suggests embracing the “composite” definition of the title to include instruments from a variety of cultures.  There are several open sections for solos that can either be performed by one person doing a longer solo, or by many performers doing short solos (you will hear both of those in this performance).  The ensemble can be as few as five players, but since “muchos” means “many”….
Udan Mas – trad. Javanese Gamelan piece      Udan Mas - the OG version
Balungan (basic melody)            
Irama 1                             Balungan + irama 1
Irama 2                             Balungan + irama 2                Irama 1 + 2 
Irama 3                             Balungan + irama 3                Balungan + irama 1 + 2 + 3
Gongs                               Balungan + gongs                  Balungan + irama 1 + 2 + gongs


Gamelan is the traditional music of the Javanese, Balinese, and Sundanese people of Indonesia. The music is played on metallophones that somewhat resemble the vibraphone or glockenspiel of Western percussion music.  The music is organized in a timeline punctuated by various gongs.  The timelines vary in length, but as always multiples of 4 (some are 256 beats long!).  In terms of pitches, the melodic material is derived from one of two parent scales: a five-note scale that is roughly equidistant in terms of intervals, and a seven-note scale that uses large and small intervals.  A basic melody, called a balungan, is heard in the lower pitched metalophones with faster variations (called irama) heard above in the higher pitched instruments. Udan Mas, which means' "Golden Rain," is one of the most famous Javanese gamelan pieces.  The timeline is a 16-beat cycle known as lancaran (listen for the largest gong on the 16th beat).  The scale used in Udan Mas is derived from the 7-note parent scale, but only uses the second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh notes of the scale roughly equivalent to the notes F, G, B, C, and D and referred to as pelog barang.
Ritmica No. 5 – Almadeo Roldan    
YouTube video - playing begins at ~2:00)                COVID-era video                 YouTube audio with scrolling score         


Cuban composer Amadeo Roldán wrote six pieces that he titled "Ritmica" that focused primarily on the rhythmic aspects of music.  Ritmica No. 5 is based on folkloric and traditional Cuban musical styles, including the son (the opening section) and montuno (the faster second section) which reflects Roldán's stature as a leading figure of the Afro-Cubanism artistic movement.   Not surprisingly, Roldán uses traditional instruments such as the claves (4 pairs!), bongos, maracas, and guiro along with orchestral instruments such as timpani and bass drum.  Composed in 1930, it is one of the earliest pieces exclusively for percussion instruments and helped to establish the percussion ensemble in Western music.

Metrechronosity – Greg Brayman, '01     
UVM Percussion Ensemble audio from F05 concert (not the best recording quality)          

The University of Vermont

I wrote Metrechronosity in the spring of this 2001. Having played with the Percussion Ensemble for the previous 8 semesters, the inspiration for this piece came from music we have played. The piece is comprised of one measure patterns that are repeated an indeterminate number of times. The patterns fall into three large sections. Each of the patterns is derived from parts of different pieces that I have played with the Percussion Ensemble. I tried to put Metrechronosity together in such a way that it is accessible to both the listener and the performers. Metrechronosity is dedicated to Dr. D. Thomas Toner and the University of Vermont Percussion Ensemble.      - Greg Brayman

Obsidian  – Jessica Flannigan      YouTube video (U. of Alabama-Birmingham Percussion Ensemble)

Obsidian is named for the lustrous black volcanic glass  and is represented in the piece by the sharp metallic sounds of the glockenspiel, two vibraphones, chimes, triangle, sleigh bells, and cymbals.  These sounds are "grounded" by the darker sounds of the two marimbas, timpani, and bass drum.  The piece starts with quiet statements of d minor and A major chords, then ebbs and flows between quiet moments with only a few instruments and louder, faster moments with the full ensemble
Aftershock – Nathan Daughtrey       YouTube video (with score; the version we're playing ends at 2:21)        

Aftershock was originally written as a trio for concert toms under the title "Tremors."  This version has been expanded to a full percussion ensemble, including marimba, xylophone, bells, tambourine, bass drum, and gong. Inspired by the powerful, natural phenomenon of earthquakes (including an allusion to the release of steam), the middle of the piece harkens back to its concert tom roots, as all players play some kind of drum. 

Tetracurrent – Chad Floyd       YouTube video           YouTube video with score    

Originally titled "First Four," the inspiration for TetraCurrent stems from an ad lib session during a break in a recording session. The first idea the composer explored for this piece was the use of the tone clusters as a recurring accompanying rhythmic figure. The melodic ideas were then constructed over this idea and developed from there.