Coming Undone (2011) by Andy Harnsberger
Players: 7
Instrumentation: 3 marimbas (5.0, 4.5, 4.3), 2 wind chimes, vibes, glock, 2 suspended cymbal, snare drum, hand claps, conga, pedal block, 2 low tom or bass drum, triangle, mark tree, drum set
Duration: 9 minutes
Program Note:
Coming Undone is in three sections, delineated by texture, instrumentation, and tempo. The first section is very melodic and understated with instances of pulling apart rhythmically in the melodic instruments. The ensemble then divides into two groups and a faster, groove-oriented trio is introduced. After the groove is established, fragments of the thematic material are presented in the keyboards at the slower tempo from the opening. The transitions to the last section – faster still, and on the verge of becoming totally unraveled by the end of the piece. [The middle section] was inspired by Ben Wahlund’s “Forward, Together, Forward” in which he used two separate ensembles and tempi I knew that would work perfectly with what I was trying to accomplish in this work.” – Andy Harnsberger