First Performance
May 1990 Boston Musica Viva Ensemble
Richard Pittman, conductor
Boston, MA
Instrumentation
fl. (pic), cl. (bcl), perc. synth., vln., vla., vlc.
Duration
14'30"
Listen
Program Notes
Hammer Music is commissioned by the Fromm Foundation of Harvard University, which sponsors several free concerts of new music at Harvard annually. Hammer Music draws its title from the hammer strokes heard from the synthesizer in the recitative-like sections at the beginning and the end. In these two sections it is as though the synthesizer is the singer and the acoustic instruments are the passive accompaniment. The synthesizer tells a story or expresses quick thoughts and the acoustic instruments immediately react and give their support. The recitative-like sections, which represent reality, form a frame for the rest of the work, which is a journey of the imagination. This journey consists of a pounding energy that is straight, twisted, sometimes noise-like, and even valse-like. The energy finally breaks down in the form of an Adagio introduction of a Baroque Allegro form, which leads us to the last recitative-like section.
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