Asventuras

Item details

Description +
- Duration: 7 min.
  
  The idea for "Asventuras" emerged four years ago during the preparation for a concert, in which I was supposed to play a rudimental snare drum piece.
  
  While practicing this piece I noticed that many different colors and sounds that the snare drum is capable of producing were lacking in the composition. This made me start to experiment on the instrument and I ended up composing the part that became the middle part (page 4/5) of “Asventuras”, played with brush and felt stick. It was followed by a counterpart (page 2). Over the years I thought of a rhythmical frame for the piece. The result was a structure of three parts which finally became the three columns of the piece (beginning, page 3 and end) with the basic rhythmical structure 3-1-4-1.
  
  From the day I composed the first note, the name “Asventuras” was on my mind. Since the time I spent experimenting on all kinds of sounds and effects on the snare drum was adventurous, the connection with the word "adventure" must have had an influence on the name of my piece.
Instrumentation +
- Snare Drum
Watch+
- Performed by Alexej Gerassimez
  
  Performed by Sebastian Cantillana
  
  Performed by Rostislav Sharaevskiy
  
  Performed by Niek KleinJan
About the composer +
- His enthusiasm for music and rhythms, always searching for new sound effects, his feeling for structure – all these qualities led the young percussion soloist Alexej Gerassimez to begin to compose. His main aim is to enlarge the solo and chamber music repertoire for percussion. He has already published several works in collaboration with the publishing company “Edition Svitzer”.
Reviews +
- Percussive Notes, May, 2012
  
  This is my new favorite snare drum solo. As any composer or percussionist can attest to, the snare drum offers many compositional challenges. In lieu of traditional devices used with other instruments, such as melody and harmony, composers must venture into nontraditional techniques in order to establish a musical language for the instrument. This often includes complex rhythms, spectacles of technical mastery, and the use of various sticking implements and surfaces on the snare drum. While many composers have tried their hand at such techniques, relatively few have been successful in fusing them into music that can be appreciated and respected by both performers and audience members. “Asventuras” is the exception.
  
  Each section of the piece features a unique combination of sounds that is achieved through various playing implements, playing surfaces, and rhythmic language. The piece opens with driving eighth and sixteenth rhythms performed with stick clicks, rim, and shell sounds. By the time the drumhead is actually struck (toward the end of the first page), the sound is refreshing and new. The next two pages consist of “groove-like” syncopations, juxtaposed with rudimentalstyle sextuplet rolls and precise dynamic contrasts that aid in bringing clarity to the phrases. The following page would constitute the “mixed mallet” section of the piece. Here, with snares turned off, the performer begins with fingernail, palm, and knuckle sounds. This quickly expands into the simultaneous use of a timpani mallet, drumstick, and wire brush. After a brief opportunity for improvisation, the snares are turned back on and the piece ends with a tour de force of rudimental-style rolls.
  
  While many snare drum solos incorporate similar techniques, few do so with such intuitiveness and seamlessness. It is technical without seeming aloof, and uses a variety of sounds without being gimmicky. All of the elements the composer uses are put in place for one reason: to serve the music.
  
  —Jason Baker
Credits +
- Front Cover graphics and layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell
  Engraving: Alexej Gerassimez/Johan Svitzer
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER
  www.editionsvitzer.com

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