trio for cello, percussion, and piano with 2 assistants
9 minutes
for nief norf
detailed instrumentation: cello, piano (with assistant), percussion (with assistant)
percussion instruments: glockenspiel, 3 large suspended cymbals (one heavily dampened, one lightly dampened, one with no dampening), 2 wood blocks, 2 bongos (tuned very low), very low tom (slightly dampened), kick drum (slightly dampened).
percussion assistant: The percussion assistant will dampen instruments while they are being played by the percussionist and will occasionally play the instruments as well. When dampening is required, the instrument to be dampened, and the duration, will be notated using the same percussion mapping system as used for the percussionist. When an instrument is to be played, a mallet indication is given and "play instrument" is specified. If no "play" specification is given, then dampening is the default.
piano assistant: The primary role of the piano assistant is to place towels inside of the piano and to apply various dampening pressures to those towels. All actions are defined when they first appear in the score. Three towels are needed:
- 1 small towel (large wash-cloth or rally towel)
- 2 medium/small towels (approximately handtowel)
The piece should begin with one of the larger towels dampening the bottom M3 of the instrument. The towel should be folded a few times and placed at approximately the half-way point of the string. The strings, when played, should still have a reasonably resonant sound, but with a very fast decay rate. In addition to the dampening practice, the assistant must, at one point, reach over the rack and play the highest C on the instrument while also dampening that range.