The Rite of Spring-A Percussionist's Guide
I wrote a book!
This was NOT the plan. There was NO plan. During this pandemic (around April/June 2020), I revisited an old paper I wrote in grad school about the percussion parts in Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.” I always thought it could be in Percussive Notes magazine (the classical percussion version of Modern Drummer magazine) and began to read through it 25+ years later. I contacted the Percussive Arts Society about publishing it (as an article) and they were all for it. While editing it, it got longer and longer - way too long for an article in a magazine. I thought - ebook! And then it occurred to me, this could be both - paperback AND ebook. Why not? And that’s what it became.
That is the extremely short version, but it’s all in the Preface:)
This book discusses all the editions of the scores/parts and many of the discrepancies between them. These discrepancies have resulted in many different ways of interpreting the parts - since 1913! My goal was not only to shed some light on these issues but offer many options, ideas, anecdotes, and personal experience into performing/conducting this monster of a work.
Percussionists and conductors will both benefit from this book and it’s my hope that it will not only be enlightening, but used as a resource for many years!
Also covered:
Choosing the right instruments
Creating the ideal sound in specific passages
Choosing an ideal set up, especially for the timpanists
Practical performer considerations within the context of real orchestral experience
Historical context that helps all of the above
Thinking about the specific sounds for each instrument’s part
Options for performing certain passages
Musical examples providing harmonic and rhythmic context with other percussion instruments and the rest of the orchestra
Not only will percussionists and timpanists benefit from this, but conductors as well.
If you’re interested, check it out here!
For the diehard fan, I made a video of the section from 3 before 65-71 and 72-79 . Check it out!
