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Kendhang Kalih

  • Text
  • Duet
  • Farr
  • Percussion
  • Farr
by Gareth Farr | Percussion Duet

in-Residence for the

in-Residence for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. The residency culminated in 2008 with the premiere of Ex Stasis, a symphonic song cycle for four soloists. In 2008, Farr also celebrated the world premiere of his work Terra Incognita, for bass solo, choir and orchestra, performed by Paul Whelan and the Orpheus Choir with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Farr’s artistic excellence was acknowledged when he received the Arts Foundation of New Zealand’s Arts Laureate Award 2010, which aims to celebrate significant artistic achievement as well as nurture future creative endeavours. In March of 2014 Farr’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra received its world premiere from soloist Tony Lee and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pietari Inkenen. Its UK premiere followed one year later, with Lee backed by the BBC Philharmonic, with conductor Tecwyn Evans. The BBC Philharmonic included Farr’s work alongside Douglas Lilburn’s Symphony No.2 as a programme to mark the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC troops’ battle at Gallipoli during World War I. The concerto received critical acclaim, described by the Dominion Post’s John Button as containing “marvellously free piano writing surrounded by orchestral sounds that conjure up memories of Prokofiev ballets, Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges and even the Bartok First Piano Concerto…the ear was tickled bar after bar. I have no doubt that this marvellously inventive piano concerto is bound to develop an international life all its own.” Farr’s music is particularly influenced by his extensive study of percussion, both Western and non-Western. Rhythmic elements of his compositions can be linked to the complex and exciting rhythms of Rarotongan log drum ensembles, Balinese gamelan and other percussion music of the Pacific Rim. Latest information about the composer may be found at www.garethfarr.com. PE026 – iv

Kendhang Kalih (1990) Inspired by Javanese gamelan music, Farr’s Kendhang Kalih is an engaging multi-percussion duet whose title is derived from a Javanese gamelan term literally meaning ‘two drums’. It refers to one of the slower, sparser drumming styles that accompanies many gamelan forms, using a small high pitched drum and a large drum with a resonant bass tone. In Kendhang Kalih, however, the term refers to the two drummers and the two drum setups, which — as in the Javanese style — function as one unit. Although each performer uses a unique arrangement of drums, their rhythms lock into one another and hocket to produce the effect of a single large drum set-up. The work is split into two halves. The first half emphasises contrast between the two performers’ material, as over a series of phasing repeats one part becomes denser and quieter while the other grows sparser and louder. The second half fuses the performers together in a minimalistic note-by-note build-up of a ‘drum melody’. Kendhang Kalih received its premiere performance from Matthew Clayton and Gareth Farr at the Adam Concert Room, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand in October 1998. PE026 – v

Score Library

Percussion Duet Gareth Farr Percussion Farr