Bass and Drums
db, 6 tomtoms/bass drum
Duration: 11:00
Date of Composition: 1975
PROGRAM NOTES:
In its original incarnation, completed January 1985, Bass and Drums was scored for double bass and drum machine. The drum machine, programmed to control 12 tuned tomtoms and a bass drum, was used as a super metronome to aid the guiding the live bass player through a maze of complex rhythms and tempo relationships. The present version replaces the drum machine with a real live percussionist. Although in the revision none of the rhythmic difficulties were simplified, for practical reasons the original 12 tomtoms have been reduced to six. The result is a tour de force – in terms of ensemble, at least – for two virtuoso players.
In form, Bass and Drums falls into six somewhat integrated sections. The opening section features pizzicato bass and the tomtoms in a stream of abrupt tempo changes. This is followed by a brief transition into a bowed, lyric section. Section three is an allusion to the opening, though much shortened. Section four is in a quick tempo with shifting accents. Section five, another allusion to the opening, yet further shortened, serves as an introduction to the final fastest music: a whirling, dithyrambic dance. Bass and Drums is dedicated to the players of Basso Bongo, bassist Robert Black and percussionist Amy Knoles.
-James Sellars