Third Coast Percussion | "Meander, Spiral, Explode" by Christopher Cerrone

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Meander, Spiral, Explode:
Concerto for Percussion Quartet
by Christopher Cerrone

Performed by Third Coast Percussion
with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Ken-David Masur, conductor

World Premiere - May 12th, 2019
Symphony Center Chicago

Video by No Dancing Production

Meander, Spiral, Explode by Christopher Cerrone for percussion quartet and orchestra was commissioned for Third Coast Percussion by the Britt Music & Arts Festival, Teddy Abrams, conductor and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, in celebration of its 100th season.

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STICKS/MALLETS:
5A - AMERICAN CLASSIC® 5A
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/american-classic-5a.html

GB4 - SOUNDPOWER® MEDIUM GONG BEATER
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/soundpowerr-medium-gong-beater.html

M31 - TERRY GIBBS KEYBOARD -- MEDIUM – BLUE CORD
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/terry-gibbs-keyboard-medium-blue-cord.html

M140 - ORCHESTRAL SERIES KEYBOARD -- MEDIUM NYLON
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/orchestral-series-keyboard-medium-nylon.html

M240 - CONTEMPORARY SERIES KEYBOARD -- MEDIUM
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/contemporary-series-keyboard-medium.html

M241- CONTEMPORARY SERIES KEYBOARD -- MEDIUM HARD
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/contemporary-series-keyboard-medium-hard.html

M242 - CONTEMPORARY SERIES KEYBOARD -- HARD
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/contemporary-series-keyboard-hard.html

M160 GIFFORD HOWARTH KEYBOARD -- VERY SOFT
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/gifford-howarth-keyboard-very-soft.html

M140 - ORCHESTRAL SERIES KEYBOARD -- MEDIUM NYLON
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/orchestral-series-keyboard-medium-nylon.html

M112 - ROBERT VAN SICE KEYBOARD -- SOFT
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/robert-van-sice-keyboard-soft.html

M160 - GIFFORD HOWARTH KEYBOARD -- VERY SOFT
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/gifford-howarth-keyboard-very-soft.html

M122 - ROBERT VAN SICE KEYBOARD, SYNTHETIC CORE- SOFT
https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/robert-van-sice-keyboard-synthetic-core-soft.html

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ABOUT THE PIECE:
In April 2019, my friend Tim Horvath, a novelist, texted me, “Do you know Jane Alison’s 'Meander, Spiral, Explode'? It’s a book that focuses on unusual structural elements in novels.” I always trust Tim’s suggestions, and I tore through the book over the next
few days, finding it unique and deeply insightful. I experienced what Melville called “the shock of recognition”—seeing someone describe your own efforts (in this case, an in-progress percussion concerto) without ever having seen a note of it. The three words of the title seemed to pertain specifically to each movement of my concerto.

The first movement—while dramatic and intense—seems to meander through different landscapes, where the gunshot-like sound of four wooden slats morphs into marimbas and bowed vibraphones while changing volume, key, and context. The second movement (played without pause after the first) is structured like a double helix. A rising scale on two vibraphones slowly expands, speeds up, and finally blossoms into a sea of polyrhythms. As for the last movement (again played without pause): the explosion seems fairly self-evident. A single exclamation point ejects lines of 16th-notes into the ether which return, again and again, to a white-hot core. The propulsive patterns in this movement constantly shift emphasis but always maintain energy. The end of the work brings us back to the first three notes of the piece, suggesting one more shape that Jane Alison discusses in her book: a fractal.

The simple shape of the opening turns out to have contained the entire form of the work to come. Meander, Spiral, Explode is dedicated to Third Coast Percussion, who have brought to life nearly an hour of my music over the last three years, and the two fine conductors who will give the world premieres of the work, Teddy Abrams, and Ken-David Masur.

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