(1891 -1975)
Arthur Bliss was born in London on 2 August 1891. For over 50 years he was a familiar and central figure on the English musical scene. He was educated at Rugby and at Pembroke College, Cambridge where he studied with Charles Wood. He attended the Royal College of Music for a single term before the First World War broke out and interrupted his studies for the duration. After demobilisation in 1919 he soon won a reputation as a cosmopolitan and advanced composer. In Madame Noy (1918), Rhapsody (1919) for two voices and chamber ensemble, and Rout (1920) he experimented with instrumental uses of the voice, in wordless vocalisation and nonsense syllables. In 1921, Bliss became conductor of the Portsmouth Philharmonic Society and two years later he moved to California.
Arthur Bliss Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Colour Symphony
2 Timpani + 1 percussion
Clash cymbals
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March from Things to Come
Timpani + 3 percussion
Snare drum, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals
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Meditation on a theme by John Blow
Timpani + 4 percussion
Xylophone, glockenspiel, sheep bells, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, suspended cymbals, tenor drum, tubular bells, snare drum, 2 additional suspended cymbals for timpani
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The Beatitudes
Timpani + 2 percussion
Suspended cymbal, clash cymbals, 2 snare drums, tenor drum, orchestral bass drum, tubular bells, gong
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Violin Concerto
Timpani + 2 percussion
Orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals
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