Belem
General Info
Year of published: 2013
Publisher: Edition Svitzer
Level: Advanced
Duration: 00:07:00
Price: €35.00
Instrumentation
Player 1: Triangle
Player 2: Triangle
Player 3: Suspended Cymbal
Player 4: Suspended Cymbal
Player 5: Tambourine
Player 6: Castanets
Player 7: Snare Drum
Player 8: Bass Drum
Player 9: Timpani
Player 10: Timpani
Player 11: Timpani
Player 12: Timpani
Player 13: Piano
Player 14: Piano
Program Notes
Belém is the Portuguese name for Bethlehem and the name of a suburb of Lisbon. The city is known for its famous 35-meter high brick tower from the 16th Century to commemorate Vasco da Gama, which in 1910 was declared officially Portuguese national monument and in 1986 UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Belem is written for a music school or skilled amateurs, and a few of the instruments can be played by more musicians, among these the castanet with the characteristic rhythms. In the first movement Berg uses the piano primarily as a melodic instrument, while it is largely treated as a percussion instrument in the second movement.
Belem was premiered 2 November 1974 at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus (Denmark) by a percussion ensemble from Holstebro Music School under the direction of Niels Burchardt Andersen during a percussion seminar with legendary Saul Goodman. Among the members of the ensemble were Gert Mortensen, Gert Sørensen, Søren Monrad and Flemming Vistisen, all of them with remarkable careers as professional musicians.