The focus of my listening log for this week is the second movement (Largo), from Mexican composer Carlos Chávez’ ‘Toccata for Percussion Instruments’, written in 1942. I’m currently working my way through the Exploring Rhythm section of the course and I thought it might be a good idea to explore bits of the repertoire for percussion ensemble. Music composed exclusively for percussion (ensemble or solo) is not something that I’ve listened to a lot of in the past, neither in recordings or in live performance.
Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) was a Mexican composer, conductor, and theorist who championed the blending of traditional Mexican folk songs and rhythms with modern compositional techniques of the 20th century1. The ‘Toccata’ was composed by Chávez in 1942 at the request of American composer John Cage. The ‘Toccata’ was ultimately premiered 1948 by members of the Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, of which Chávez was the founder and director.
I chose to focus on the second movement of the piece, the Largo movement. Following a violent and fast first movement, the second movement is written in 8/8 time with a tempo marking of ♪ = 58. After the initial tempo indication, the composer indicates an additional four times “Sempre in tempo ♪ = 58“, reminding the players to try and maintain the slow-moving pace of the piece, even with changes in dynamics.
The piece calls for six musicians and the instrumentation for this movement is as follows:
Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Suspended Cymbal, Chimes, Small Gong, and Large Gong.
As can be seen, there are two pitched instruments required for this movement, which are used to provide a subtle melodic element to this movement. The pitched lines stay in a constant pulse on the quaver and don’t stray from this throughout the movement.
The instruments with a longer sustain (small and large gong, and suspended cymbal) often have short articulations notated, meaning that there is often little distinction on the individual attacks on the note. The effect created is often a type of padding effect beneath the pitched percussion.
As with the tempo, Chávez gives incredibly precise indications on the dynamics and expressive qualities he wants for the piece. The musicians are reminded throughout a passage to maintain the dynamics indicated previously even if, given the slow tempo of the piece, these might be expected to fluctuate naturally and gradually. Similarly, Chávez communicates with verbal instructions when and how to choke or let ring notes, using language rather than symbology to get this idea across to the performers.
It’s interesting for me to note how much can be communicated by a percussion ensemble if the directions for the performance and its many nuances are specified to the most minute detail. This involves an understanding of the expressive range of the instrument, which may appear limited, and recategorizing that range into its component parts. This gives a lot of possibility within the physical limits of the percussion ensemble.
References: 1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carlos-Chavez#ref215448 Recording: M-G-M Chamber Orchestra., 2013. 'Toccata for Percussion Instruments: II. Largo' Carlos Chavez: Toccata for Percussion Instruments - Silvestre Revueltas: Ocho por Radio - Heitor Villa-Lobos: Choros No. 7 - Carlos Surinach: Ritmo Jondo'. [online] New York: Soundmark Records.