Work
Above Ground : version for 2 percussion and piano quintet
by Robert Davidson (2004, this version: 2007)
Also known as: Davidson, Robert - Percussion concerto
Audio Sample
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Performance by Karak Percussion, Topology from the CD Selected works by AMC represented artists |
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Non-Commercial
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CD
Selected works by AMC represented artists : vol. 24
Version: This product features the Septets: Saxophone, marimba, vibraphone, piano, violin, viola, double bass version of this work
Library shelf no. CD 2370 [Available for loan]
Display all products featuring this work (9 more) 
Work Overview
When composing Above Ground, I was thinking of the landscape around where I live in Brisbane, extending out to the Glasshouse Mountains, Sunshine Coast and Border Ranges to the south, as if surveying the ground from a glider or small plane - not too high in the sky. I was aware of the enormous volcanoes that were once dominant in this part of the world, and of the jagged rocky shapes that once were magma plugs inside the volcanoes, as well as the placid lakes and beaches, the lush rainforests and mangroves, and the impossibly blue sky. Somehow, various scattered musical influences made their way into the piece. Raucous honky-tonk silent movie music in the first movement, serene chord progressions of Prokofiev in the second movement and 1970s TV cop shows like Starsky & Hutch in the third one. They just seemed to fit, and I remembered my teacher Terry Riley advising me to keep my musical imagination open to what enters, resisting censoring. Genre boundaries, which seemed to matter to many people when I was a student, have really gone the way of the dodo and I'm glad about that.
The piece is in three movements, organised as fast-slow-fast. It was commissioned by the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra and Karak, the percussion duo consisting of Kerryn Joyce and Kevin Man. I rewrote the concerto for solo percussion after various other versions, including several chamber versions, one (for Clocked Out duo and my ensemble Topology), which features prepared piano as a second soloist. The work has also been choreographed by François Klaus for the Queensland Ballet.
Work Details
Year: 2004, this version: 2007
Instrumentation: 2 percussion (1: vibraphone, snare drum, cajon, djembe, 2 tom-toms, bass drum; 2: vibraphone (shared with 1), marimba, cajon, djembe, 2 tom-toms, bass drum), 2 violins, viola, cello, piano.
Duration: 21 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — Rhythmically challenging; use of vibraphone bows
Dedication note: Dedicated to Kevin Man, Kerryn Joyce
Commission note: Commissioned by Musica Viva Australia.. Original concerto commissioned by the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra with funds from the Australia Council
First performance: by Karak Percussion, Australian String Quartet, Benjamin Martin — Huntington Festival, Huntington Estate, Mudgee NSW
The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc associated with this work:
indie classical, postminimalism. Influences on this work include Terry Riley, and 1970s cop shows.
Subjects
- Influenced by: Post-minimalism
- In the form/style of: Concertos
Performances of this work
Unknown date: Huntington Festival, Huntington Estate, Mudgee NSW. Featuring Karak Percussion, Benjamin Martin, Australian String Quartet.
19 May 2017: at Dots+Loops Compulsion (Lightspace). Featuring Nonsemble.
6 May 12: Brisbane Powerhouse, QLD. Featuring Topology.
6 May 2012: at From Small Things Grow (Brisbane Powerhouse). Featuring Clocked Out, Topology.
29 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
28 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
27 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (extra show announced) (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
22 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
21 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
18 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
15 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
14 May 2010: at ... Live Attitude (Thomas Dixon Centre). Featuring Topology.
27 Nov 2009: at Sound on sound (Enmore Theatre).
21 Nov 2009: at Sound on sound (Brisbane Powerhouse).
21 Nov 2009: at Sound on sound (Brisbane Powerhouse).
20 Nov 2009: at Sound on sound (Brisbane Powerhouse).
27 Oct 08: Brisbane Powerhouse, QLD. Featuring Topology, Karak Percussion.
12 Sep 04: Old Museum Concert Hall Brisbane, QLD. Featuring Karak Percussion, Brisbane Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Bonetti.
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