For flute and vibraphone. Moderately difficult, this brief, lyrical work for vibes and flute adapts well to many recital programs. Duration: ca. 2' 30"
Review from Percussive Notes:
James Cuomo – Song At Year’s End
“Song at Year’s End” is a duet for vibraphone and flute composed in 1969 but recently published. It is a short piece, running at approximately 2.-minutes, but what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in intricacy. As with many contemporary works written from this era, the piece is atonal with incredible rhythmic complexity. This includes a myriad of time signatures and several complicated rhythms that occasionally work independently from the partner instrument. Aside from these moments of controlled chaos, much of the work is a melodic interplay between the two players, requiring an intimate knowledge of advanced rhythmic gestures such as 5:4 rhythms and thirty-second-note triplets. The vibraphonist needs to adhere to a number of details. Besides the intricate rhythms, dissonant harmonies, and complex melodic gestures that are called for, James Cuomo includes several specific instructions as to how each of the notes should sound. These instructions include mallet changes, staccato notes, pedal durations, vibrato speed, and the dynamic for each gesture. All of these elements change rapidly at times, but when they are executed as the composer desires, the result is satisfying to listen to for those who have an ear for this style of music. This is a well-written work for a pair of instruments that sound great together in this contemporary style. Its short length makes it ideal for professional musicians to add to their repertoire relatively quickly, or for upper-intermediate players to get their feet wet in this type of music.
—Kyle Cherwinski
