Let’s be honest: when you think of composed music for solo instruments, the snare drum is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. It may be the noisiest member of the percussion family and has been setting the volume level in everything from classical music to pop for decades. That’s why I pricked up my ears when the Canadian percussionist Ryan Scott announced an entire album of works for snare drum — written by 14 different composers. A full hour and a half of music, no less. And yes, that sounds like a lot for a record that mainly consists of a single drum. But there is definitely something to discover here.
The opening, Andrew Staniland’s ANTIGRAVITYDRUM, blends free jazz with inspired use of percussive vibraphone, while Beka Shapps’ Skinscape IV sends the drum strokes through ring modulation and extensive sound processing, bringing us close to musique concrète. Christina Volpini’s only ghost slips into horror territory with march-drum-inspired bursts and ghostly use of the snare drum’s high register, while Amy Brandon’s Time and Effort almost becomes a demonstration of the instrument’s technical possibilities.
Fourteen works over ninety minutes is a substantial mouthful. The snare drum’s limited tonal vocabulary means that you occasionally lose focus, even after several listens, and the contrast between drum strokes and silence is repeated a little too often. That said, Ryan Scott and the composers get just about as much out of what is essentially a glorified marching drum as one could hope for. I was both entertained and intrigued along the way. As an experiment, the idea is strong — but in the long run also a bit too insistent for me to return to often. Still, one should not underestimate the versatility of a good old-fashioned snare drum.
Translated from Danish.
Original text
Lad os være ærlige: Når man tænker kompositionsmusik for soloinstrumenter, tænker man ikke på lilletrommen. Den er måske det mest larmende medlem af slagtøjsfamilien og har i årtier sat lydniveauet i alt fra klassisk til pop. Derfor spidsede jeg ører, da den canadiske percussionist Ryan Scott annoncerede et helt album med værker for lilletromme — skrevet af 14 forskellige komponister. Endda halvanden times musik. Og jo, det lyder som meget for en plade, der primært består af én tromme. Men der er bestemt noget at komme efter.
Andrew Staniland s åbner, ANTIGRAVITYDRUM, der blander freejazz med inspireret brug af percussiv vibrafon, mens Beka Shapps’ Skinscape IV sender trommeslagene gennem ringmodulation og omfattende lydbehandling, så vi er tæt på musique concrète. Christina Volpinis only ghost sniger sig ind i horror-territorium med marchtrommeinspirerede stød og spøgelsesagtig brug af lilletrommens diskant, mens Amy Brandon s Time and Effort næsten bliver en demonstration af instrumentets tekniske muligheder.
14 værker over halvanden time er en stor mundfuld. Lilletrommens begrænsede tonale vokabular gør, at man indimellem falder af, selv efter flere gennemlytninger, og kontrasten mellem trommeslag og stilhed gentages lidt for ofte. Når det er sagt, får Ryan Scott og komponisterne omtrent så meget ud af en glorificeret gardertromme, som man kan. Jeg var både underholdt og tankevækket undervejs. Som eksperiment er idéen stærk — men i længden også så insisterende, at jeg næppe vender tilbage. Alligevel: Man skal ikke undervurdere alsidigheden i en god gammeldags lilletromme.
