Includes score. Two scores needed for performance.
Print size: 11 x 17"
traveling music
1 movement in eight continuous sections. Approximately 6 minutes.
traveling music is a work of constantly shifting, delicate surfaces. It requires an intense level of coordination between a dancer and percussionist. At any time either the dancer or the percussionist is called upon to establish the rhythmic context for the collaborative creation of intricate overlays of accents. The two players keep trading this role of rhythmic leader between them. At times the two players work in sync to create joint cadences; at other times they work completely at odds to one another; at still other times they slip in and out of synchrony.
The score employs a specialized dance notation that indicates the rhythmic placement and viewing plane of visual accents without specifying how the dancer should go about creating them. Thus, although the notation is in one sense extremely explicit it remains essentially an open-ended invitation to the dancer-choreographer. The percussion music features extremely intricate passagework on a small number of instruments. A diagram for constructing a simple mounting rack to facilitate the smoothest possible playing of these passages is included in the score.
traveling music was commissioned by Nancy and Michael Udow in 1976 and performed extensively by them on tour. A video recording is available on the Equilibrium DVD Equilibrium Dance & Percussion Duo (DVD04). Follow this link to order a copy of Equilibrium Dance & Percussion Duo's DVD, including a complete performance of "Traveling Music": https://michaeludow.com/recordings/dvd04/
Review from Percussive Notes (2022):
In 1976, Michael Kowalski wrote “Traveling Music” for dancer and choreographer Nancy Udow and percussionist Michael Udow. They performed it during their tour as the Equilibrium Dance and Percussion Duo. Media Press published this score in 2019, so now those who wish can perform this unique duet.
For the percussionist, the writing is best described as “specific.” Kowalski takes great effort to give every moving gesture or isolated attack a dynamic marking as well as some dynamic motion. For the most part, everything stays quiet. Among all the fast and sometimes intricately syncopated entrances and rhythms, a majority of the piece is marked either piano or mezzo-piano. This allows the deliberately placed sforzando accents or short forte gestures that occur to really pop out of the texture. The attention to detail the composer put into the percussion writing is impressive.
Even though the dancer is literally given center stage for the performance and the percussionist is either in a pit or off to stage right “as visually unobtrusive as possible,” both share the responsibility of leader at specified moments. The work is divided into eight sections. For each section, whomever has the more rhythmically active part sets the pulse for the section, whether there is a tempo change written or not. Each performer is given the leader designation four times, so the percussionist will need to learn how to read tempo from the choreography, which will be a new challenge for some. Then again, what is conducting but a specific type of choreography? So, if the player is skilled enough to handle these parts, reading the pulse from a dancer should not hold any problems.
Dancers and percussionists think about music in similar ways, especially in non-pitched music. Our works are dependent on a sense of pulse, rhythm, and the precise application of accents. “Traveling Music” is a great representation of a dance and percussion duo featuring these shared aspects of our respective crafts. It is a wonder why more collaborations like this do not exist, or at least are not more regularly programmed. Hopefully, with the availability of Kowalski’s composition, more performers will take advantage of this unique yet natural partnership.
—Kyle Cherwinski
