PERCUSSION MUSIC BY
G. Bradley Bodine

~ Solo Marimba ~ 

A Cross On Wood 

COMMISSIONED and premiered by Drew Lang, A Cross On Wood makes use of contemporary marimba techniques which include displaced octaves, fast scale passages, and poly-rhythms. While there is an extended passage of rolled notes (four-mallets) at the outset and a brief return to this material at the end, overall this is an energetic and very rhythmic piece. The key scheme follows the pattern D-Ab-B-F-D. When this pattern is placed on a "circle of fifths" chart, it forms a cross, hence the title of the piece.
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 ~ Marimba & Flute ~ 

Rhapsodia 

RHAPSODIA was commissioned by the Blackburn/Lang Duo and was premiered by the duo on March 12, 1999 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. 

"RHAPSODIA" is a Greek word which means "epic poem." I chose this Greek form of the word because I wanted the audience to understand that the composition is a poem with many different stanzas. 

THE composition is a poem in the sense that there are rhyme schemes, questions and answers, and contrasting stanzas. Each of the themes represents a new stanza in the poem. New themes are frequently unfolding. The opening melody is a witty tune that could have come from Pan's flute. Elements of poetry, including rhyme, can be heard in this opening melody. The fast tempo and motivic construction of the following section are its most obvious characteristics. Fast double-tonguing permeates the flautists part during this portion of the piece. 

AFTER this fast section, a cantabile melody in adagio tempo takes over in the flute with a tremolo counterpoint in the marimba part. A heterophonic (both instruments play the same melody) texture permeates the next stanza of the poem with a complex and free rhythmic structure - I attribute this use of heterophony to my study of Japanese court music. This heterophonic melody transitions into a very sad and lonely melody in the flute, with a chordal accompaniment played by the marimba. 

EVENTUALLY, sadness and loneliness are replaced by hope. In the ensuing flute cadenza, I emphasized a struggle between the emotions of hope and sadness. The marimba enters and begins a dialogue. A joyful Celtic dance in dorian mode ensues and the flute and marimba unite in a high spirited rhythmic feast. 

AT this point in the piece, the flute and marimba play a rhythmic canon at the interval of a major seventh, each spelling out the letters "I LUV U" in Morse code. A metric modulation leads to the next section of the piece which combines elements of the joyful Celtic theme with the witty opening theme. 

THIS leads to a marimba cadenza which continues the development of these themes. The flute adds ebullience to the final cadences of the marimba cadenza, leading to a coda with new music based on fast jazz improvisations and punctuated by allusions to the joyful Celtic theme.
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~ Marimba & Horn ~ 

Rhapsody for Horn and Percussion

RHAPSODY FOR HORN and PERCUSSION was commissioned by the International Horn Society for Catherine Roche-Wallace (Horn) and Jeffrey Prosperie (Percussion). The work was premiered in 2005 at the 37th International Horn Symposium at the University of Alabama.

RHAPSODY FOR HORN and PERCUSSION begins with a 33-measure crescendo - a simple bass drum and cymbal back beat pattern that forms a rhythmic mantra against which the rhythmic activity of the opening horn melody is set. As the rhythmic tension increases, the beat suddenly slips into a cut-time swing pattern, while the horn performs a jazz-inspired melody. The swinging melody continues until a metric modulation suddenly sweeps the musicians into a very tight, fast rhythmic flurry.

FOLLOWING this rhythmic passage, the horn player receives a break in the form of a snare drum solo. The ensuing horn cadenza is, in turn, followed by a solo marimba passage that is based upon motives found in the horn cadenza. The marimba solo is followed by a joyful fanfare accompanied by the chimes. This fanfare continues to develop as the percussionist performs a simple ostinato on the marimba, providing a harmonic accompaniment to the horn. A new soft jazz inspired melody is introduced as the music changes to asymmetrical meters while the marimba continues its accompanimental role.

THE horn fanfare is heard again as another metric modulation on the horn, morphs into a snare drum playing repeated 16th notes. The snare drum continues playing straight 16th notes throughout this final section, while motives heard earlier in the work are developed and mixed together in an improvisatory style. The work ends with the fanfare motive being played high and brassy.
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Concerto For Marimba 
& 
Band/Orchestra 

CONCERTO FOR MARIMBA was commissioned by marimbist Drew Lang. He premiered the orchestral version of the work at the prestigious International Festival Institute at Round Top under the direction of Edwin Outwater.

THE opening movement of the three-movement composition is cast in double exposition form with a cadenza before the recapitulation. After a short introduction, the marimbist plays the first and second themes in succession. The trumpet and flute pick up the next statement of the first theme. The marimbist answers by completing the statement of the theme begun by the trumpet and flute. The dialogue between the ensemble and the soloist continues throughout the statement of the second theme as a codetta ends the exposition. The dialogue between ensemble and soloist set up in the exposition continues throughout the development section. Eventually, the virtuoso marimbist breaks into thirty-second note runs against a background of motives from the first theme. The development section continues with the kaleidoscopic development of both themes. Eventually, the ensemble takes over with a powerful crescendo. The marimba cadenza leads to the recapitulation.

THE second movement is cast in a rondo song form: a-b-a (inversion)-b (inversion)-c-c (retrograde)-b (retrograde-inversion)-a. The marimbist plays rolled chords throughout the movement. The orchestration of this movement is particularly subtle and colorful. 

THE final movement of this concerto is cast in a sonata-rondo form: a - b - a - development - b - a - coda. The development section of this final movement utilizes materials from both of the preceding movements and thus creates a cyclic form for the work. For the climax of the movement, the main theme of the preceding movement is presented in the form of African-based rhythmic structures.
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~ Percussion Duo & Choir ~ 

Desert Songs I 

COMMISSIONED by the Animas Music Festival and the Arizona Repertory Singers, featuring percussionists, John Pennington and Gary Cook, "Desert Songs" is a musical interpretation of three poems from Byrd Baylor's Desert Voices collection. 

THE first poem, "Spade-foot Toad," begins with the line, "Far down in the earth, quiet as a stone, I wait for rain." In setting this text, I wanted the audience to feel a sense of waiting. I used incessant repetition to achieve this sense of waiting at the beginning of the work. After the waiting period is over, the music modulates to a new key at the lines, "... and take me from my hiding place." This change of key represents the toad emerging from his/her hole in the ground. 

PORTIONS of the second poem, "Rattlesnake," portray the sun beating down on the rocks. I used bowed crotales to convey this imagery. In this piece, I have asked one of the percussionists to use a cello bow to play the crotales, giving the cymbals a raspy flute type of sound. The bowed crotales also help create a mysterious atmosphere that is alluded to at the beginning of the poem ("I move so flat against the earth that I know all its mysteries"). THE third poem, "Buzzard," ends with the text "High over the world, I watch." The buzzard is watching for death. Death means life for the bird. I used the bright bell sounds of the glockenspiel to portray life while the choir sings the words, "I watch." Each time the choir stops singing, the chime sounds a single death toll. Life and death are juxtaposed against one another. At the end of "Desert Songs," the death toll is barely audible while the choir quietly sings "I watch."

Desert Songs II 

DESERT SONGS II is the second of three commissions I received from the Voices of Time commissioning project. The American percussionists, John Pennington and Gary Cook, premiered the work with the Arizona Repertory Singers under the direction of Jeffry Jahn at the University of Arizona in May of 2003. 

THE first poem, "Cactus Wren," begins with marimba and Philippino buzzing sticks playing the rhythm of male and female cactus wrens calling to each other. From a recording of the bird's call, I notated it, and assigned pitches to the birds' inflections. The text, "I like thorns in all directions," is expressed through the use of hocketing technique, in which sentences are broken into one-word or two-word segments and then passed between different sections of the choir. 

THE second poem, "Lizard," is characterized by the text, "The rougher the country, the faster I run." During this movement, the choir sings fast melismas, creating images of fast running. These choral melismas are accompanied by a "drum kit" of cajon, high hat, wood blocks, agogo bells, and timpano, alluding to the rough country. A fast, ever-rising vibraphone part serves to increase tension and conjure up images of fast running. When the lizard finally rests, hocketing technique is once again employed, but this time the vibraphone, marimba, and glockenspiel are used to create a mantra-like texture reminiscent of the Gamelan orchestras of Bali and Indonesia. 

MANY Native American cultures view the coyote as a "trickster" and "the bringer of song." One of the ways that coyotes are known to trick their prey is by having one member of the pack get the attention of the prey by jumping up in the air. Once the prey's attention is focused on the jumping coyote, the remainder of the pack sneaks up behind the animal and pounces on it. This "trickster" characteristic is expressed at the beginning of the "Coyote" movement. The movement begins with a simple quarter-note drone on the marimba and tom toms. This drone is interrupted by a 32nd-note figure played on wood blocks and the higher notes of the marimba. These "interruptions" are designed to take the listener's attention off the singing in the manner of a "trickster" coyote. 

TOWARD the middle of the "Coyote" movement, a solo soprano (or a small group of sopranos) sings a very high (up to high c) melody while the rest of the choir creates a filigree texture. The singing is accompanied by a harp-inspired marimba part, while the glockenspiel alludes to the stars glimmering in the "moonlight." 

   G. Bradley Bodine
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G. BRADLEY BODINE holds degrees from The Evergreen State College, Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Arizona. He studied music composition with Daniel Asia, Stephen Scott, Gregory Youtz and Ronald Hurst. 

BODINE has received numerous commissions to create new works for a variety of instrumental combinations. Many of his compositions have been widely performed by virtuoso performers including Drew Lang, Doug Walter, Helen Blackburn, Alexa Still, Ingrid Gordon, Berndt Thurner, Gisela Mashayekhi-Beer, Gary Cook and John Pennington - often at major music festivals throughout the United States and in Europe. HE was awarded an Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Projects Grant in 2OO1, with funding from the Indiana General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. Bodine served as a panelist for the Indiana Arts Commission in 2002. In addition, he also received ASCAPlus awards for 2002 and 2003.
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