- Nico Muhly
Gait (2012)
- St. Rose Music Publishing (World)
Commissioned by the BBC for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Percussion (5 players):
Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Marimba, Crotales, Triangle, Sleigh Bells, Anvil, Wood Blocks, Tenor Drum, 2 Bass Drums, Whip
Scores
Preview the score
Reviews
Nico Muhly’s Gait is a winner. Cast in a continuous span, the faster outer sections enclose a slow, dreamy central panel with trombone then flute, oboe and trumpet solos gently resting on a shimmering accompaniment, Muhly dictating a blueprint but allowing players to ignore the conductor (“skip notes, add rests, ignore other players” is one instruction in the score), with the massed percussionists with woodblocks gently intoning a clip-clopping rhythm as if at some distance (the dream was of horses that became reality). The fast final section (marked ‘Precise’) has some wonderful effects – the buzzing bassoon and double bassoon stuttering for example – building up to a John Adams-esque climax (Harmonielehre era, perhaps), ending in a welter of sound that is suddenly cut off. Hugely impressive
4th August 2012