Black Forest Percussion Group: Glass

Our concert is all about glass. Glass consists of many grains of sand, just as music consists of many frequencies. Glass can be transparent, it can be opaque, it can be colored, it can be thick, it can be thin. And, it can vibrate and sound! All these properties have inspired the composers on this program to write works that approach the tonal characteristics of glass from different perspectives. The compositional explorations place particular emphasis on the entire tonal spectrum of the material. Bell-like sounds, the finest shimmering, fragile sounds and the combination with different percussion instruments and trumpet sounds open up a very special listening experience for the listener.

The masterpiece for organ and trumpet by Petr Eben (arr. for percussion quartet and trumpet by Swiss composer Sebastian Meyer) is based on four stained glass windows by Marc Chagall. This classical-modern piece is reinterpreted through the different timbres of the instruments marimba, vibraphone, xylophone and glockenspiel. Two movements of this four-movement work will be premiered in our concerts. Viet Cuong's Water, Wine, Brandy, Brine is a wonderful work that uses only wine glasses in traditional (cheers!) and non-traditional ways. Jeff Herriott's work "Draping the walls with Ice" is the final work in his 'Stone Tapestry' cycle and uses 9 glass bowls in conjunction with crotales to create a delicate and short coda to this hour-long work. We will also be performing Sebastian Meyer's work entitled "Oi! A Glass Breaks".