Altered Gates by Jim Casella is an energetic, driving piece for percussion quintet that uses unpitched instruments to merge layers of sounds together. The piece has performers facing each other, giving the piece a dance-like, choreographed feeling to audience members.
Having ten hands moving rhythmically in and out of sync makes the entire visual element of the piece very engaging, as a matter of fact, and requires a skilled group of talented musicians to coordinate and perform with nuance and energy.
Difficulty: Advanced
Duration: 5:30
Instrumentation:
- Drums (1 set of marching tenors (quints), 4 double-headed toms (graduated in size), 1 kick drum (mounted flat), bongos, congas, snare drum (w/ splash cym. on top head))
- Cymbals (hi-hat, 2 splash cymbals)
- Accessories (2 cowbells (low, med-high), 4 jam blocks (low, medium, high, piccolo), opera gong (or small china cymbal), resonant metal (I.e. ice bell)
