(b. 1934)
Sir Harrison Birtwistle was born in Accrington in the north of England in 1934 and studied clarinet and composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music making contact with a highly talented group of contemporaries including Peter Maxwell Davies, Alexander Goehr, John Ogdon and Elgar Howarth. In 1965 he sold his clarinets to devote all his efforts to composition and travelled to Princeton as a Harkness Fellow where he completed the opera Punch and Judy. This work together with Verses for Ensembles and The Triumph of Time firmly established Birtwistle as a leading voice in British music.
Sir Harrison Birtwistle Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
In Broken Images
No Timpani + 3 percussion
3 xylophones, 15 wood blocks, 12 bongos, 6 tom toms, orchestral bass drum (small), 3 lion's roar (low), bamboo guiro, hi hat, tambourine, castanets
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Angel Fighter
No Timpani + no percussion
24 or 36 singers, claves for each, 6 guiros
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17 Tate Riffs
No Timpani + 3 percussion
2 marimbas, tubular bells, 5 octave marimba
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Bach Measures
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Glockenspiel, vibraphone
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Cantus Iambeus
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel
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Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
No Timpani + 3 percussion
Glockenspiel, xylophone, 2 octaves crotales, vibraphone, marimba, 5 temple blocks, guiro (long bamboo guiro,c.40cm), claves, machine castanets, tambourine, 2 pairs bongos, orchestral bass drum large, suspended cymbal, nipple gong (low), tam tam
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Deep Time
No Timpani + 4 percussion
Vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, xylophone, tubular bells C4, Db4, G4, Ab4, A#4, B4, C#5, E5, F5, almglocken A2, (probably A3), E4, Bb4, B4, F5, Mokubio (Japanese wood blocks high pitch) C5, D5, F#5, G5, A5, B5, 2 high temple blocks, large bamboo guiro x 3, bongos x 3 A3, C#4, D4, 6 tom toms (highest below lowest bongo, large orchestral bass drum, very large orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal, large tam tam, very large tam tam, low gong, very low gong, low lion's roar
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Earth Dances
No Timpani + 5 percussion
1) vibraphone, xylophone, hi wood block, suspended cymbal, bass bow, cabassa, hi hat, small cowbell, 2) vibraphone, xylophone, suspended cymbal, bass bow, claves, 4 log drums, hi hat, congas, 2 tambourines, 3) xylophone, glockenspiel, 2 tambourines, suspended cymbal, bass bow, suspended cymbal, bass bow, hi hat, cabassa, claves, wood block, vibraphone, orchestral bass drum, 4 log drums, Eb bell plate 4) 6 tam tams, suspended cymbal, bass bow, hi hat, hi wood block, cabassa, snare drum, orchestral bass drum, 5 temple blocks, 2 bongos, guiro, 4 log drums, 7 tom toms, xylophone, Eb bell plate, 5) 3 orchestral bass drums, hi hat, suspended cymbal, bass bow, tambourine, claves, 2 wood blocks, tubular bells, C and G, bell plates, E, D, D#, F, F#, G,, 6 tam tams, cabassa, 5 temple blocks, xylophone
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Endless Parade
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Vibraphone
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Exody
No Timpani + 5 percussion
Marimba, tubular bells, guiro, tambourine, bass bow, suspended cymbal, large tam tam, large gong, bell tree, triangle, high Chinese drum, very small woodblock, 5 bongos, 5 tom tom, glockenspiel, 5 wood blocks, salmon reel, xylophone, vibraphone, orchestral bass drum, claves, hi hat, slapstick
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Fanfare - Brass Ensemble
Timpani x 2 + 3 percussion
3 wood blocks, 3 suspended cymbals, 3 tam tams, (med,med/lg,lg), 6 temple blocks
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Gawain
Timpani + 6 percussion (1 offstage)
Cimbalom, vibraphone, 2 octaves crotales x 2, 2 large tam tam, orchestral bass drum, 5 x suspended cymbals, 2 x triangle, 2 x China cymbals, gong, 2 x wood blocks, large Chinese bass drum, castanets, mounted tambourine, 2 x sets temple blocks, clash cymbals, 2 x anvils, 2 x hi hat, glockenspiel, mounted guiro, bell tree, Offstage bass bells E3, Ab, Bb
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Mask of Orpheus
No Timpani + 7 percussion
Log drum, marimba, 2 x xylophone, 2 x vibraphones, glockenspiel, 7 small tom toms, 7 medium tom toms, 4 large tom toms, 2 x ratchets, maracas, claves, cabassa, 2 x pairs bongos, congas, glass chimes, 7 x anvil effects, 4 x hi hats, 3 x guiros, 2 x sets temple blocks, 13 x suspended cymbals, 5 x tam tams, 2 octaves crotales, tambourine, bell tree, 17 x tuned cowbells (7,7,3), 5 x orchestral bass drums
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Neruda Madrigales
No Timpani + 1 percussion
5 octave marimba, vibraphone, taiko (lg,c.60cm)
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Night's Black Bird
No Timpani + 5 percussion
Xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, tubular bells, 2 wood blocks, 2 guiro, claves, slit drum, orchestral bass drum large, suspended cymbal, clash cymbals, metal tube, hi hat, tam tam large, nipple gong large
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Panic
Timpani + 1 percussion + percussion soloist
Soloist - double kit: 4 woodblocks, 4 temple blocks, 4 bongos, 4 tom toms, 3 congas, kit bass drum, hi-hat, large spring guiro (this only available at Bell Music)
Percussion - Kit bass drum, hi hat, 4 tom tom, 4 temple bells, 4 bongos, 2 congas
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Responses
No Timpani + 3 percussion
Percussion numbering 1-9 = low - high
P1) vibraphone, almglocken 5-7, wood blocks 6-9, tambourine, bongos 1-4, very high pitched small drum, orchestral bass drum (shared with percussion 3), tam tam 3, low gong 3, P2) xylophone, 2 octaves crotales, almglocken 4, wood blocks 1-5, temple blocks 6-9, tom toms 4-6, crasher, tam tam 2, low gong 2 P3) glockenspiel, marimba, tubular bells, almglocken 1-3, claves, temple blocks 1-5, castanet machine, tom toms 1-3, orchestral bass drum (shared with percussion 1), hi hat, tam tam 1, low gong 1
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Silbury Air
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Marimba, 2 snare drums, 7 Latin cowbells, 7 temple blocks
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Slow Frieze
No Timpani + 1 percussion
3 wood blocks, (sm,med,lg), 2 snare drums, log drum, orchestral bass drum, tam tam
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Sonance Severance 2000
Timpani x 2 + 3 percussion
Hi hat, 3 suspended cymbal, (2 large,med), 2 wood blocks, (high), 2 tam tams, (med,large), orchestral bass drum large
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The Axe Manual
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Marimba, vibraphone, bongos, congas, 3 low drums, log drum, 4 wood blocks, 5 temple blocks, hi hat, cowbell
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The Cry of Anubis
Timpani + 1 percussion
Tubular bells, glockenspiel
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The Last Supper
Timpani + 2 percussion
2 triangle, mark tree, 4 wood blocks, 4 temple bells, guiro, cabassa, tambourine, 4 bongos, 2 tom toms, 2 military drums, tenor drum, large orchestral bass drum, small orchestral bass drum, 2 hi hats, 3 suspended cymbal, bass bow, large tam tam, amplified tam tam, large gong
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The Minotaur
2 Timpani + 4 percussion
Xylophone, glockenspiel, 4 octave vibraphone, 2 octaves crotales, guiro, 3 high tom toms, 3 low tom tom, small orchestral bass drum, very large orchestral bass drum, 2 log drums, 2 x triangles, 4 wood blocks, 4 temple bells, 2 bongos, 2 congas, 4 suspended cymbals, 3 tam tams, 2 large nipple gongs
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The Shadow of Night
No Timpani + 5 percussion + celeste
Glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, 5 octave marimba, tubular bells, 3 triangles, (hi,med,low), 3 wood blocks, 2 guiros, claves, orchestral bass drum large, suspended cymbal small, hi hat, 2 tam tams (medium, large, 2 nipple gongs (med,lg), celeste
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The Woman and the Hare
No Timpani + 1 percussion + celeste
Vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, celeste
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The Woman and the Hare
No Timpani + 1 percussion + celeste
Vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, celeste
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Theseus Game
No Timpani + 3 percussion
3 vibraphones, 3 marimbas
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Three Brendel Settings - Baritone and Orchestra
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Claves, suspended cymbal, tam tam, orchestral bass drum
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Three Songs from the Holy Forest
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Vibraphone, bass bow, tambourine, castanet machine
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Triumph of Time
No timpani + 5 percussion
3 orchestral bass drums, 3 timpani (2 x 28, 1 30), 2 glockenspiels, 3 xylophones, 2 vibraphones, 4 bongos, 4 timbales, 9 tam tams, 8 Latin cowbells, 8 temple blocks, 3 tenor drums, 6 tom toms, 2 congas, 6 suspended cymbals, low octave crotales
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