Includes score and tape (.mp3 file).
Print size: Letter (8.5 x 11")
Review from Percussive Notes (2021):
“MW” from Alphabet
Janis Mercer
Alphabet is a series of short pieces that explores the musical characteristics of letters. “MW,” according to Janis Mercer, “is an inversion of itself. The performer plays the wooden planks in response to the fixed electronic metal-based sounds; conversely, the performer plays the metal bars in response to the fixed electronic wood- based sounds. The common stroke to both letters combines both metal and wood.”
The handwritten manuscript notates the swells of the fixed electronics graphically, while using more traditional notation for the wood and metal part. Everything is aligned using vertical, dashed lines and timings (in minutes and seconds). Performers not accustomed to this type of notation may feel overwhelmed at first trying to decipher the score. But with some score study, it is very doable and well laid out.
“MW” serves as a great exploration of playing with fixed electronics and a possible introduction to non-traditional notation. I recommend this piece for those purposes or for any percussionist looking to program a work of a more abstract, aleatoric nature.
--Justin Bunting
