(1897 - 1965)
Henry Cowell was born in 1897 in California where he grew up surrounded by a wide variety of Oriental musical traditions. Already composing in his early teens, Cowell began formal training at age 16 with Charles Seeger at the University of California. His use of varied sound materials, experimental compositional procedures, and a rich palette colored by multiple non-European and folk influences revolutionised American music and popularized, most notably, the tone cluster as an element in compositional design. In addition to tone clusters evident in such works as Advertisement and Tiger, Cowell experimented with the "string piano" in works like The Aeolian Harp and The Banshee where strings are strummed or plucked inside the piano. Studies of the musical cultures of Africa, Java, and North and South India enabled Cowell to stretch and redefine Western notions of melody and rhythm; mastery of the gamelan and the theory of gamelan composition led to further explorations with exotic instruments and percussion.
Henry Cowell Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Chiaroscuro
Timpani + 2 percussion
Snare drum, 5 tom toms, 5 metal plates, 2 gongs, clash cymbals, marimba
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Music for Orchestra
Timpani + 2 percussion + celeste
Orchestral bass drum, 5 tom toms, 5 metal plates, glockenspiel, clash cymbals, xylophone, celeste
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Symphony No 14
2 Timpani + 3 percussion + celeste
Xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, 5 bongos, 8 tom toms, 5 temple blocks, 4 suspended cymbals, 2 snare drums, orchestral bass drum, 3 gongs, 5 prayer bowls, low metal sheet, 5 metal plates, celeste
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Symphony No 15
Timpani + 3 percussion + celeste
5 metal plates, 5 tom toms, gong, clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, xylophone, tam tam, celeste
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Symphony No 16 - Icelandic
Timpani + 2 percussion
6 piece of metal, 6 tom toms, gong, clash cymbals, xylophone
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Symphony No 17
Timpani + 2 percussion
Orchestral bass drum, 5 tom toms, clash cymbals, 5 metal plates, gong, snare drum, glockenspiel, 5 temple blocks
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Symphony No 19
2 Timpani + 3 percussion
Xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, 5 tom toms, snare drum, orchestral bass drum, 5 metal plates, clash cymbals, 3 triangles, 7 prayer bowls, 2 wood blocks, 7 tuned drums, 3 gongs
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Symphony No 5
Timpani + 3 percussion
Xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, snare drum, 2 tom toms, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal
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The Tender and the Wild
Timpani + 2 percussion
5 tom toms, tambourine, 2 orchestral bass drums, snare drum, 5 metal plates, xylophone, marimba
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