For melody instrument, three oboes, bassoon, marimba and two percussion, includes 9 scores. Commissioned by the University of Illinois Summer Youth Music program, "for zebulon pike and henry" gives the oboes and bassoon players a chance to shine. This is contemporary chamber music written for the young player. Duration: variable
Print size: Letter (8.5 x 11")
Review from Percussive Notes (2022):
for zebulon pike and henry
James Cuomo
James Cuomo’s “for zebulon pike and henry” is for mixed chamber ensemble, incorporating percussion, double reeds, and rebabs (or any melodic instrument). The score is a single- page collection of music material. Each part is given an introductory measure, “A,” “B,” and “C” sections, and a concluding measure. Performers are to perform in whichever octave they wish, with free rhythm. The composer indicates in the performance notes that no single person should lead; instead, it is as if each player is contributing their own solo line to the musical canvas.
This piece works well as an introduction to aleatoric music. Because there is no real flexibility to the order of events, younger players may feel more at ease only being in control of the rhythmic unfolding of the material. The rebab part appears partway through the “A” section and continues partway through the “C” section, providing a bit of a formal landmark to the piece.
Cuomo’s work, written in 1970 for the Illinois Summer Youth Music program, is an interesting collection of sounds, with a fairly uncommon instrumentation. While there is a bit of theater inherent to the freedom of the work, the piece’s greatest strength is the sound world it creates as the performers individually contribute to the progression of material.
—Jamie Wind Whitmarsh
