Animosity

for multiple percussion and tape

Composer: Jason Cress
Year: 2008
Duration: 6 minutes

Animosity by Jason Cress was the 1st-place winner of the first Con/un/drum Solo Percussion Composition Competition. Scored for chaotic percussion with frenzied sub-woofer electronic sounds, Animosity unleashes a fury on the listener. Cress derived the electronics from samples of instruments from the live percussion setup, including bongos, snare drum, brake drum, tambourine, and china cymbal.

The piece itself opens with a percussion cadenza that introduces motivic material. A long cymbal roll leads into the electronic A section. This A section features a battle of man versus machine, as the performer is pushed to physical limits, while the computer pumps out extreme electronic sounds. A brief reprieve B section features a switch to brushes that provides a nice timbral contrast to the harshness of the A section. A return to the A section leads to a fervish, improvised coda.

Copies of the score and the tape part (with and without click track for practice) are available upon request with permission granted by Mr. Cress. Please contact me if you are interested.