Aether

Francisco Perez

General Info

Year of Publication: 2018
Publisher: Tapspace
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 00:06:00
Cost: $40.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Crotales
Player 2: glockenspiel
Player 3: Chimes
Player 4: Vibraphones
Player 5: Vibraphones
Player 6: Marimbas
Player 7: Marimbas
Player 8: Marimbas
Player 9: Marimbas
Player 10: Djembe & crystal Wine Glass (tuned to A)
Player 11: Concert bass drum & Suspended Cymbal & China cymbal & hi-hat & Triangle
Player 12: Synthesizer & Suspended Cymbal

Description

According to Sir Isaac Newton, the “aether” was a medium which permeated all of space, which enabled all light and energy to traverse through it. In his piece for percussion ensemble Aether, Francisco Perez attempts to encapsulate this concept through the use of bright and shimmering instruments like crotales, glockenspiel, vibraphones, triangle and chimes. Although the piece is meant to portray the nebulous aspects of the universe, there is a deep underlying group present in the piece, largely due to the ad lib. djembe part. Aether was commissioned by William Register and the Ashley Ridge High School Percussion Ensemble.

Review

Marilyn K. Clark Silva's Writing:

Aether starts out with intriguing ethereal sounds, such as crystal glass and bowed vibraphone. It then gradually builds up to the driving thematic motion that makes up the meat of the piece. The individual parts are not incredibly challenging for the ability level, but the composite effect is pleasing and would likely be exciting and satisfying for a high school or young undergraduate group to learn. The piece has a similar feel and similar elements as a winter drumline show, and as such would be a great concert season piece for percussion students to work on and develop their skills on the court/field. The piece has several ostinato parts and syncopated parts, and it incorporates such extended techniques as dead strokes and dampening. The mallet parts have a few challenging runs and some four-mallet chords.

Aether calls for three vibraphones and four marimbas, in addition to a few specialized percussion instruments like crotales and djembe, which may not be available to every ensemble. While the piece makes an effort to be accessible to variable sizes of ensembles, it requires a fairly well-stocked instrument inventory. For a large high school percussion program looking for a new concert piece with enough rhythmic drive and cool effects to engage the students, this piece would be an excellent choice.

Works for Percussion by this composer

Aether- Percussion 12
Affinity - Percussion 14
Chakalaka - Multiple Percussion
Citadel of the Stars - Percussion 13
Ephemera - Mallet Sextet
Fuerza Negra - Percussion Sextet
La Fractura - Percussion Trio
Monolith - Percussion 14
Nalu (Percussion Ensemble) - Percussion 13
Nalu (Marimba Quartet) - Marimba Quartet
Selva Luminosa - Mallet Quartet
Tesseract (Ensemble Version) - Vibraphone & Mallet Sextet
Time Dilation - Percussion Octet
Volcán de Fuego - Percussion Quartet
Voyager (Perez) - Percussion 12