Suite Op. 14

Item details

• Description +

  • Arranged by Michael Dooley
    Duration: 8-11 min.
    
    I chose to orchestra Bartok’s piano solo Suite Op. 14 to give percussionists an opportunity to experience the melodic/harmonic aspects of his writing, as well as his musical wit and intelligence. The original work is already percussive in nature, with driving, widely-leaping lines and tightly-woven rhythms. The music lends itself towards percussion instruments’ strengths: quick changes of range, dynamic extremes, and instant attack. 
    
    Each of the four movements has a distinct character, and none of them are very long, giving the audience an entertaining, impressive show that doesn’t outwear its welcome. The first movement sounds like the opening of a dark carnival, the second a relentlessly spinning dance, the third an aggressive charge forward, and finally an eerie closing written in Bartok’s “night music” style.

• Instrumentation +

  • Percussion Ensemble:
    
    Player 1: Bells, Xylophone
    Player 2: Vibraphone
    Player 3: Vibraphone
    Player 4: 4.3 Octave Marimba
    Player 5: 4.3 Octave Marimba
    Player 6: 4.5 Octave Marimba
    Player 7: 5.0 Octave Marimba
    Player 8: Timpani
    Player 9: Piano
    Player 10: Percussion 1        
       Bass Drum, Chimes, Wood Blocks, Snare Drum, Triangle, Vibra-slap
    Player 11: Percussion 2        
       Crash Cymbals, Susp. Cymbal, Medium Tam-Tam,
       Tambourine, Castanets (High/Low), Marching Machine

• Watch+

• About the composer +

  • Béla Viktor János Bartók (25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers (Gillies 2001). Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of comparative musicology, which later became ethnomusicology.

• Credits +

  • Front Cover graphics and layout: Gaia Gomez
    Photo: Joseph Vandagriff
    Engraving: Michael Dooley & Johan Svitzer
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    www.editionsvitzer.com

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