Graiser, Brian- Miriamic Canons, for tambourine quartet

Miriamic Canons, for tambourine quartet, includes 4 scores. 

Program Notes: 

“Miriamic Canons” was written for Dr. John Lane (Sam Houston State University) and his Sam Houston Percussion Group to premiere at the 2017 Percussive Arts Society International Convention (the performers were SHSU undergraduates Lia Claus, Joeisha Foreman, Jacob Perales, and Eric Roberson). He had requested a quartet which would be easy to transport from Texas to Indiana, and the idea of a tambourine quartet quickly emerged with the added goal of incorporating several of the extended tambourine techniques championed by Christopher Deane. The piece was inspired by the Biblical account of Miriam leading the women of Israel in tambourine-accompanied song after the Exodus across the Red Sea, and the recurring “melodic” motive is actually a phonetic representation of the Hebrew text of her song: “Shiru l’Adonai ki-ga’oh ga'ah soos v’rochvo ramah vayam” (“Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”). 

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Review from Percussive Notes (2023):

Brian Graiser has composed a quartet for tambourines that is rhythmically and sonically captivating. While such instrumentation could easily lend itself to novelty, Graiser’s work is full of craft and carefully navigates the gap between technical interest and audience accessibility. Originally written for the Sam Houston State University Percussion Group’s performance at PASIC (hence its portable nature), “Miriamic Canons” was inspired by “the Biblical account of Miriam leading the women of Israel in tambourine-accompanied song after the Exodus across the Red Sea, and the recurring ‘melodic’ motive is actually a phonetic representation of the Hebrew text of her song: ‘Shiru l’Adonai ki-ga’oh ga’ah soos v’rochvo ramah vayam’ (‘Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!’).”

Graiser gives a detailed explanation of playing techniques, ranging from traditional knee-fist and shake rolls to techniques borrowed from Middle Eastern riq playing, and some of his own creations that are notated through the brief descriptions he gives in the score. The performance video on the publisher’s website is a tremendous help in translating these instructions into practice and should make most of the techniques and sounds fairly intuitive.

As indicated by the title, canonic writing is the main compositional tool used throughout the piece, and the identification of imitative figures is enhanced by the timbral differences created by the variety of playing techniques used. Although not indicated in the score, using four tambourines that are graduated in pitch (as appears in the video) further brings out the canonic writing and voicing of each part.

If you’re looking for a portable quartet to serve as a concert opener or part of an outreach concert, “Miriamic Canons” will engage any audience with its combination of inventiveness and craft.

—Jason Baker