Undisclosed

Chad Heiny

General Info

Year of Published: 2013
Publisher: Tapspace
Difficulty: Intermediate
Duration: 00:03:00
Cost: $36.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Concert Snare Drum
Player 2: Bongos
Player 3: Timbales
Player 4: 2 Concert Tom-toms
Player 5: Brake Drums
Player 6: Tambourine
Player 7: Sizzle Cymbal & China Cymbal & Ride Cymbal & Splash Cymbal
Player 8: Cowbell & Maracas
Player 9: Concert Bass Drum

Description

Chad Heiny composed Undisclosed in homage to the first percussion ensemble piece he ever played, Michael Colgrass’s Three Brothers. Like that piece, Undisclosed features three soloists out front and six performers in the back. The work is through-composed and boasts a relentless, exciting forward motion that is well served by its vibrant instrumentation of only non-pitched percussion and its dramatic use of dynamics.

Review

If you are looking for a large ensemble that can be performed by players of all different ability levels, “Undisclosed” may very well fit the bill. In an homage to Michael Colgrass’s “Three Brothers, ” Chad Heiny composed a piece that is sure to excite audiences and ensembles alike.

The piece begins with a ppp snare drum roll and maracas swirling at the same soft dynamic level; these two parts will definitely require more skill than others. Chad Heiny’s extensive marching experience is evident, having a bit of a front ensemble sound at times, but he blends it well with “traditional” percussion ensemble nuance and instrumentation, a further nod to Michael Colgrass. The piece is through composed, but uses the opening rhythmic motive (and the ppp rolls and swirls mentioned earlier) to conclude the piece.

Oftentimes composers, especially in ensemble music written in the last 20 years, are not clear enough in writing their vision for the music. Chad Heiny’s writing and musical notation are extremely PERCUSSIVE NOTES 64 MARCH 2014 clear and concise. In fact, he gives excellent direction to the sound that he envisions by using specific instructions like “fist” for the tambourine part, “swirl” for the maracas, and “ride (bell) ” for the cymbal part. A high school or young college ensemble would benefit greatly from the technical and musical challenges provided in this composition.

—Marcus D. Reddick

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Solos

Auroras
Chemical Songs (Volume 1)
Chemical Songs (Volume 2)
Mementos

Percussion Ensembles

Beacons of Light - Percussion Ensemble
Bad Juju - Percussion Octet
Canon Fodder - Percussion Quartet
Coming of Age - Solo Marimba and Percussion Quartet
Elements - Marimba Duo
Epoch - Percussion Sextet
Hydra - Percussion Octet
Panthera Pardus - Percussion Ensemble
Perched - Drumset & Multiple Percussion
Thundersnow
Treespeak - Percussion (13)
Tribe
Two Preludes - Mallet Sextet
Undisclosed - Percussion Nonet
Wanderlust - Percussion Septet