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Six Movements
for
Percussion
for One
to
Eight Players
Program Notes
THE genesis of Homeland Security Suite started with my composition of Orange Alert for solo timpani. At the time, the country was actually at “Orange Alert” and I was amazed that a color normally associated with such happy and positive images represented such a state of heightened anxiety. After it was published by HoneyRock, I thought it might be interesting to set all of the colors represented in the Homeland Security Advisory System: Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange and Red.
IT’S ironic that until 9/11, 2001 the vast majority of Americans weren’t even aware that an advisory system existed, let alone what all the colors meant. A number of questions came to mind. Was America ever at the lowest level, Green Alert? What was the symbolism embodied in a system of terror that uses the colors of the rainbow as its visual representation? How could I take these visceral images and transfer them to an art form based not on color, but sound, and create an arc over a sustained period of time that didn’t feel overly repetitive?
TO begin, I chose a more abstract rhythmical and harmonic style and a wide variety of instrumentation. Within each movement I embedded a number of more literal musical “signposts.” For example, toward the end of Green Alert I used the steel drum to capture the sense of joy and freedom that a lack of threat might engender - the tempo ironically marked “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” In Blue Alert I included a number of musical fragments referencing New York. After I completed all five levels I decided to add an epilogue in the form of a new level: White Alert – white being the color of light that embodies all others and yet appears without any. Whatever political statement I’ve attempted to embody in this work can best be understood by reflecting on my setting of this last, and truly final, movement.
Robert S. Cohen
October 25, 2007
- - - - - - - -
$100.00
- Green Alert -
[Six Players -
Duration ca. 8' 33"]
$28.00
Sound Sample
Bongos (2), Castanets, Claves, Congas (2), Cowbell Guiro, Maracas,
Ratchet, Sand Blocks, Steel Drum, Tambourine, Temple Blocks, Triangle,
Vibraslap, Woodblocks (2).
GREEN ALERT (Low Risk of Terrorist Attack) is the lowest level on the Homeland Security Advisory System, a level that I expect, has yet to be attained – as it implies a total lack of outside threat. Highlights include a mysterious contrapuntal section led by the steel drum representing the omnipresent menace lurking below the surface; an extended solo for temple blocks; and a section with the ironic tempo marking “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” characterized by an infectious calypso tune played on steel drum.
- Blue Alert -
[Three Players -
Duration ca. 7' 03"]
$25.00
Sound Samples:
1
2
Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Marimba.
BLUE ALERT (General Risk of Terrorist Attack) explores the interplay between the three tuned mallet percussion instruments. Tension is created by a repeated one-note figure that is punctuated by percussive semi-tones. It is the constant build of these semi-tones that becomes the metaphor for heightened risk as well as a musical representation of the hustle and bustle of New York City itself. Throughout the work, we hear snippets of well-known songs that reference New York City including: “New York, New York” (both the On the Town and “Sinatra” versions); “On Broadway” and “Autumn in New York.”
