The Stars Began To Burn

Matthew Gillott

General Info

Year: 2023
Duration: 00:05:30
Difficulty: Intermediate
Publisher: Tapspace
Cost: Score and Parts - $45.00   |   Score Only - $0.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Xylophone & Crotales
Player 3: Chimes & Tambourine
Player 4: Vibraphone 1
Player 5: Vibraphone 2
Player 6: Marimba 1
Player 7: Marimba 2
Player 8: Marimba 3
Player 9: Piano
Player 10: Bongos & Claves & Suspended Cymbal & Impact Drum
Player 11: Tam Tam & Suspended Cymbal & Cabasa & Ride Cymbal & Hi Hat & Bell Tree & Sizzle Cymbal & Rain Stick & Egg Shaker
Player 12: Mark Tree & Concert Bass Drum & Djembe & Field Drum & Suspended Cymbal
Player 13: 4 Concert Tom Tom & Congas & Suspended Cymbal & Impact Drum

Program Notes

The Stars Began to Burn by Matthew Gillot was written during the spring/summer of 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The title of the piece was taken from a line in Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey.” Gillott’s intent for the piece was to capture the emotional experience he felt while reading the poem which he described as “the ecstatic rush of replacing habitual self-doubt with self-confidence.”

The Stars Began to Burn is a delightful percussion ensemble work that takes students through various time signatures and metric pulses, techniques, and keys and is accessible to a wide range of playing abilities. It begins with a duple feel before moving into a 12/8 triplet pulse for the majority of the work. This is a great opportunity to enhance students’ confidence with 12/8 time signatures.

Works for Percussion by this Composer

The Stars Began To Burn - Percussion Ensemble (13)