Shadow Play
General Info
Year: 2002
Duration: c. 6:30
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alliance Publications
Cost: Score & Parts - $60.00 | Score Only - $15.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V-VI, including:
- Glockenspiel I-II
- Triangle
- Tubular Bells
- Vibraphone I-II
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Shadow Play is a composition based on gamelan music from Bali. Bali is an island that is a part of Indonesia. Traditional Balinese music is played by gamelan orchestras that consist mainly of tuned gongs of various sizes and smaller bar-type instruments similar to the vibraphone and orchestra bells. Some gamelan orchestras also include drums, chanting and flute-type instruments.
Most gamelan music uses a tuning system that resembles a western pentatonic scale. The music is usually based on ostinato patterns that may change tempo and slowly evolve into other patterns. The highest instruments play faster embellishing parts, while the middle range instruments play the main melodic material. The very lowest and largest gongs usually serve time-keeping roles that may reinforce the main melody. Drums may be used to establish the rhythmic pulse, while flutes and singing or chanting may create longer melodic phrases.
This composition is based on music used for a type of Balinese puppet show known as a shadow play. In these plays, puppets are manipulated behind a screen, with a fire or other light projecting the puppets' shadows onto the screen. The play this piece is based on is called Wayang Kulit, part of a Hindu legend known as Mahabharata, which dates from the 10th century BC. Music for a shadow play is usually played by a smaller gamelan orchestra without drums or the largest gongs.
Program Note from Published Score
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Huntsman Waltz (Mysliveček Valčìk)
- I Want to Be Ready (as arranger)
- Millionaire's Polka
- Shadow Play (2002)
- Twilight Prayer (2006)
- Two Native American Songs (1999)
Resources
- Dunker, Amy. Analysis of Shadow Play