Christopher Froh on "Water Music" and "Parade"

Our April 26, 2010 concert at Herbst will have two unusual percussion pieces. SFCMP percussionist Chris Froh shares his thoughts on Tan Dun's "Water Music" and Guo Wenjing's "Parade".

Regular SFCMP concertgoers are familiar with massive percussion batteries occupying a significant chunk of the stage (and often stage set-up time!). Marimbas, xylophones, and tom-toms intermixed with gongs, cymbals, and various automotive parts are typical fare for many of our concerts. But these two works for percussion ensemble by Tan Dun and Guo Wenjing are anything but typical.

In Tan Dun’s “Water Music,” Dan Kennedy and I will be joined by guest artists Loren Mach and Ben Paysen for a romp through amplified water. Tan (famous for, among other things, his film score for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) intricately notates dozens of inventive splashing techniques and other fabulous water-based sounds. Loren will be the soloist, leading the rest of us through this unique sound-world. The piece is a whole lot of fun to play and beautiful to watch unfold. I’ll be bringing my raincoat: by the end of the piece, the four of us will be soaked from head to toe!

Guo Wenjing adopts a very different approach in his “Parade” for percussion trio. Employing a tiny set-up of six small Chinese gongs placed on a table that the three players surround, the composer milks every last possible sound out of his minimal instrumentation. We’ll each use a dozen different sticks and mallets, finger and hand pressure to affect pitch changes, and lots of other tricks and surprises over the course of this fantastic piece. Because we all play on the same six instruments, there’s just as much choreography as there is music for us to rehearse. We’ll be projecting a live-feed, bird’s-eye view of the piece so that the audience will be able to see the flurry of activity on the table.

If you have kids who you’d like to expose to new music, both of these pieces are ideal. They’re fun, creative, and guaranteed to give you lots to talk about on the way home from the concert. We’re all looking forward to seeing you on April 26!