A percussion concerto is one of the most interesting musical compositions. It is performed in the form of orchestra or musical band, and Evelyn Glennie and Colin Currie were the first two percussionists who wowed a large number of people. There are two main subsets of percussion concerto: the marimba concerto and the timpani concerto.
This percussion concerto of Chen Yi has a lot to learn and get inspiration from. From the way the stage has been designed to the overall impression of the performers, everything is just amazing and appealing.In the first few seconds, the sound of the pianos is high, but it goes down gradually, leaving an ever-lasting impression on the minds of listeners like me.
There is a mix of emotions, ranging from sad to happy, and the soloist does everything to keep our attention intact along with the other performers.Just like other performances and percussion concertos, the rhythm and meter have played a significant role in this performance. With the basic knowledge and much practice, those performances have played with pianos and other musical instruments amazingly. The bias line in this performance has carried the steady beat, and the drum line can be listened to count the total number of beats. When I kept listening to the music, I observed that the sound kept changing.
Sometimes it gets louder, and the other times, it gets slower. Proper instructions have been given to the piano players to change the tempo, and a lot of progressive jumps can be observed between the time signatures and tempos. The first percussionist seems to be doubling the line verbatim, while the others play the rhythmically distilled version of that line thoughtfully and impressively, using syncopated rhythms and accents.No doubt, this piece of music has combined excellent performance with unique instrumental techniques and communicates different emotions from the beginning till its end. No parts or forms in this 20-minute performance seem to have been repeated, meaning everything is unique in its ways, especially the spontaneous response of the performers to the percussionist. The pitch is the only thing that is contrasting to what I heard earlier.In conclusion, the entire piece of music reminds me of the 20th century’s jazz fusion and blues.
At that time, simple instruments were used, and the performers used to improvise the melody lines, accompaniment parts, and solos. The overall impression of this percussion concerto is incredible.
