Scored for Percussion Duet
Available from HoneyRock Percussion Literature.

Completed in 2006
Duration: 12 minutes

Premiered July 2009 in Okayama, Japan
Eric Guinivan and Yumiko Nishioka, Percussion

Program Note
Twelve is built upon two central ideas: a cyclic pulse that regularly increases in duration by one beat:

and a twelve-note, two-pitched melody that alternates somewhat irregularly between the two players:

 These two elements originate in a simple, dark, quiet, and sparse setting played only on two large tam-tams.  Over the course of the piece, the elements are elaborated, developed, and layered through a variety of textures and tempos while maintaining a gradual accelerando and crescendo throughout.  After reaching a point where it seems as if the process can develop no longer, the music dramatically unwinds itself as both the rhythmic and melodic elements of the piece begin to happen in reverse while still maintaining the accelerando that has been present throughout.  The drum-dominated orchestration of two-bass drums, six toms, timbales, bongos, and two tam-tams is given a special, distinctive color by the presence of two ship bells that add a beautiful warmth to the musical texture.