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Re: new test pieces

In message <NCBBJOLMNLDBKAHFGDHDKEFBDHAA.gas@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Gordon A
Simpson <gas@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>Maybe it's time that a panel of top percussionists sat down with composers
>(a the composition stage) to discuss what is and isn't possible with 3
>players.  Composers in years gone by have relied heavily on brass band
>specialists to score the piece (e.g. Moorside Suite, Severn Suite, Diadem of
>Gold, etc) so why should we expect that the current crop of composers will
>fully understand percussion writing.

That's a slight non sequitur - brass bands aren't the only ensembles to
use assorted percussion. Also, band pieces of the Elgar/Holst era are
minimal at most in the percussion department, leaving very little room
for more advanced/intriguing effects. The reason these composers left
the scoring to 'natives' (if they did at all - when The Severn Suite was
used for the open a couple of years ago there was an article by Bram
Gay(? I think) in the Bandsman making a persuasive case for Elgar having
scored it himself) was that they didn't feel competent enough to score
expertly for an unfamiliar medium. Or, more cynically, that they felt
that they get away doing the smaller amount of work required for the
same commission. A further point - of all the adjustable skills required
for converting to band scoring, percussion writing is by far the most
tranferrable; it's almost safe just to write them as for full orchestra
or other comparable ensemble. I've seen several transcriptions where the
percussion parts have simply been photocopied from the original, while
the band parts have had to be completely rewritten.

Dave Taylor

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