The Way of the Dragon | Multi-Percussion Duet

Описание: Conrad Prebys Concert Hall
January 19, 2021

Vahid Jahandari, composer
Vahid Jahandari & Mitchell Carlstrom, percussion

The Dragon came to life during the winter of 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a departure in my creative process. This piece is my most collaborative work, with a spontaneous composition process guiding percussionist Mitchell Carlstrom alongside me. From the outset, I aimed to customize instrument sounds, using extended materials to explore new possibilities.

The composition begins with variable strokes on a large bass drum responding to friction drums. Lion's Roars offer two distinct timbres—one performed with a wooden stick, drawn within a tom-tom drum using a wet tissue, and the other utilizing a rope. The rope can create percussive sounds by hitting the drum shell, resembling a whip crack. The first model with a stick allows for further exploration, including striking the bottom hoop. Jingle bells sewn to the lower part of the rope add a metallic quality when vibrated.

In the middle, a personalized, unusually large waterphone with special design and textures takes center stage. Coins taped to the instrument's body contribute to a longer resonance, enhancing the overall sonic experience.
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The customization of certain percussions included retuning, tending to lower their pitches. For instance, loosening the tension of the snare drum's batter head substantially to produce a timbral quality associated with traditional instruments or primitive/abstract sounds.

The second section follows with mini melodic insertions of a series of handbells, repeating short patterns followed by rhythmic gestures of the timbales, accompanied by bowing tam-tams that are sustained throughout this part, back and forth, changing between the two performers, creating a foundation to improvise on the predetermined materials.

The third section is a return to friction drums; however, the involved instruments are increased. I play with the superball mallets on various surfaces from the ground to the percussions' sides that are responded to with the large bass drum's strikes and ornamental sounds of wind chimes, marking the end of each phrase. The coda is a return to the lion's roars fragments where the piece ends in approximately 10 minutes. The duration in the second performance of the piece took about two minutes longer due to engaging with certain sections for a more extended period. The form analysis can also be detailed in smaller units.

The percussion setup was the key to the development of the piece. The approximate distance of each instrument to another dictated in many ways the approach in which the music unfolded. The physical position of every instrument was critical in the way each percussion was performed/sounded that included leading the narrative during the rehearsals.

Instrumentation: (2) Lion's Roar (1) Waterphone (2) Wind Gong (1) Thai Nipple Gong (1) Chinese Red Drum (1) Thunder Sheet 20x30'' (2) Crash Ride Cymbal (1) Large Bass Drum (1) Timbale Set (3) Kickable Percussion: Floor Tom, Cymbal Stack (Zildjian Oriental Splash x Sabian Crash), Kick/Bass Drum Mounted Percussion: Wind Chimes, Shaker, Tambourine, Goat Nails, Cluster Bells, (2) Wrist Bells, Jingle Taps, and a set of 5 to 10 Cowbell.