Langwana

Item details

• Description +

  • Duration: 3 min.
    
    Langwana in these day’s is a forgotten tropical island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The langwan nation lived here in peace for hundreds of years, and they have a powerful kingdom. However today is not found on the map. The conquistadors conquered and enslaved them, and the langwan culture destroyed.   
    
    The piece is an ancient ritual, a sacrifice to the god Langwa, who is the lord of eternally time.

• Instrumentation +

  • Percussion Ensemble:
    
    Player 1:
    Bongo 10” splash cymbal
    Vibra slap (with hands)
    
    Player 2:
    Conga Tumba (with hands. possibility with fingershaker on hands)
    
    Player 3:
    Surdo (with timpani and rods sticks)
    
    Player 4:
    Djembe (with one hand and one sorghum brush)
    
    Player 5:
    Shekere Maracas

• Watch+

• About the composer +

  • For more information please contact the Publishing House.

• Reviews +

  • Review (Percussive Notes, July 2016)
    
    According to the composer’s program notes, “Langwana is a forgotten tropical island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.” This piece is an “ancient ritual, a sacrifice to the god Langwa.” Given the flexibility of a destroyed mythical culture, Krisztián Budai is free to gather ethnic percussion instruments from diverse influences, merge them together, and create an engaging and accessible work for nonpitched percussion quintet.
    
    Set at a moderate tempo, Budai primarily uses common eighth- and sixteenth-note figures, but sets them in a variety of time signatures including 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, and 6/8, quite effectively blurring the pulse and phrase structure to make the work sound more rhythmically complex. The frequent use of syncopation and cross-rhythms (particularly in sets of dotted eighth-notes) also creates both some rhythmic interest for listeners and a bit of a pedagogically beneficial challenge for performers. Opening with a call from the congas and response from the rest of the ensemble, “Langwana” quickly settles into four-bar phrases of ensemble groove. The texture varies occasionally as different instruments are given brief exposed passages, and Budai includes clear dynamics to highlight primary voices for performers. Most of the instruments are played with hands, but a timpani mallet, bundle stick, and sorghum brush (like a small broom) are also called for.
    
    Rather than create a work derived from a specific geographic region or percussion instrument collection, “Langwana” highlights the similarities and unified potential of these varied cultures and instruments. In this way, Budai successfully created an excellent work for high school percussion ensembles that can be programmed for its pedagogical and entertainment value.
    
    —Josh Gottry
    

• Credits +

  • Front Cover graphics and layout: Zsolt Janos Budai
    Engraving: Krisztián Budai/Johan Svitzer
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    www.editionsvitzer.com

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