Timpani

A timpanist at work
Percussion instrument
Other names	Kettle drums, Timps, Pauken
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	211.11-922 (Struck membranophone with membrane lapped on by a rim)
Developed	12th century from the Arabic naker
Playing range
Ranges of individual sizes[1]
Related instruments
Kus Naqareh Naker

Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of musical ensembles including concert, marching, and even some rock bands.

Timpani is an Italian plural, the singular of which is timpano. However, in informal English speech a single instrument is rarely called a timpano: several are more typically referred to collectively as kettledrums, timpani, temple drums, or simply timps. They are also often incorrectly termed timpanis. A musician who plays the timpani is known as a timpanist.

Etymology and alternative spellings[link]

First attested in English in the late 19th century, the Italian word timpani derives from the Latin tympanum (pl. tympani), which is the latinisation of the Greek word τύμπανον (tumpanon, pl. tumpana), "a hand drum",^[2] which in turn derives from the verb τύπτω (tuptō), meaning "to strike, to hit".^[3] Alternative spellings with y in place of either or both is—tympani, tympany, or timpany—are occasionally encountered in older English texts. Whilst the word timpani has been widely adopted in the English language, some English speakers choose to use the word kettledrums.^[4] The German word for timpani is Pauken; the French and Spanish is timbales. The Ashanti pair of talking drums are known as atumpan.

The tympanum is defined in the Etymologiae of St. Isidore of Seville:

Tympanum est pellis vel corium ligno ex una parte extentum. Est enim pars media symphoniae in similitudinem cribri. Tympanum autem dictum quod medium est. Unde, et margaritum medium tympanum dicitur, et ipsum ut symphonia ad virgulam percutitur.

The tympanum is [an instrument made of] skin or hide stretched over a hollow wooden vessel which extends out. It is said by the symphonias to resemble a sieve, but has also been likened to half a pearl. It is struck with a wand [stick], beating time for the symphonia.

The reference comparing the tympanum to half a pearl is borrowed from Pliny the Elder.^[5]

Construction[link]

Basic timpani[link]

The basic timpani drum consists of a drumhead stretched across the opening of a bowl typically made of copper^[6] or, in less expensive models, fiberglass and sometimes aluminum. In the Sachs–Hornbostel classification, the timpani are thus considered membranophones. The drumhead is affixed to a hoop (also called a fleshhoop),^[4] which in turn is held onto the bowl by a counterhoop,^[4] which is then held by means of a number of tuning screws called tension rods placed regularly around the circumference. The head's tension can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the rods. Most timpani have six to eight tension rods.^[6]

The shape of the bowl contributes to the tone quality of the drum. For example, hemispheric bowls produce brighter tones while parabolic bowls produce darker tones.^[7] Another factor that affects the timbre of the drum is the quality of the bowl's surface. Copper bowls may have a smooth, machined surface or a rough surface with many small dents hammered into it.

Timpani come in a variety of sizes from about 84 centimeters (33 inches) in diameter down to piccolo timpani of 30 centimeters (12 inches) or less.^[4] A 33-inch drum can produce the C below the bass clef, and specialty piccolo timpani can play up into the treble clef. In Darius Milhaud's 1923 ballet score La création du monde, the timpanist must play the F sharp at the bottom of the treble clef.

Each individual drum typically has a range of a perfect fifth.^[4]

Walter Light pedal and chain timpani set up in three different combinations.

Machine timpani[link]

Changing the pitch of a timpani by turning each tension rod individually is a laborious process. In the late 19th century, mechanical systems to change the tension of the entire head at once were developed. Any timpani equipped with such a system may be considered machine timpani, although this term commonly refers to drums that use a single handle connected to a spider-type tuning mechanism.^[6]

Pedal timpani[link]

By far, the most common type of timpani used today is the pedal timpani, which allows the tension of the head to be adjusted using a pedal mechanism. Typically, the pedal is connected to the tension screws via an assembly of either cast metal or metal rods called the spider.

A pedal on a Dresden timpano – the clutch (seen here on the left) must be disengaged to change the pitch of the drum.

There are three types of pedal mechanisms in common use today:

• The ratchet clutch system uses a ratchet and pawl to hold the pedal in place. The timpanist must first disengage the clutch before using the pedal to tune the drum. When the desired pitch is achieved, the timpanist must then reengage the clutch. Because the ratchet engages in only a fixed set of positions, the timpanist must fine tune the drum by means of a fine tuning handle.
• In the balanced action system, a spring or hydraulic cylinder is used to balance the tension on the timpani head so that the pedal will stay in position and the head will stay at pitch. The pedal on a balanced action drum is sometimes called a floating pedal since there is no clutch holding it in place.
• The friction clutch or post and clutch system uses a clutch that moves along a post. Disengaging the clutch frees it from the post, allowing the pedal to move without restraint.

Professional level drums use either the ratchet or friction system and have copper bowls. These drums can have one of two styles of pedals. The Dresden pedal is attached to the drum at the side nearest the player, and is operated by ankle motion. A Berlin-style pedal is attached by means of a long arm to the opposite side of the drum, and the timpanist must use his entire leg to adjust the pitch. In addition to a pedal, high-end instruments have a hand-operated fine tuner, which allows the timpanist to make minute pitch adjustments. The pedal is on either the left or right side of the drum depending on where it is set up.

Most school bands and orchestras below a university level use less expensive, more durable timpani with either copper, fiberglass, or aluminum bowls. The mechanical parts of these instruments are almost completely contained within the frame and bowl of the drum. They may use any of the pedal mechanisms, though the balanced action system is by far the most common, followed by the friction clutch system. Many professionals also use these drums for outdoor performances due to their durability and lighter weight. The pedal is in the center of the drum.

Chain timpani[link]

On chain timpani, a chain links the tension rods so a master handle can be used to turn them all at once.

On chain timpani, the tension rods are connected by a roller chain much like the one found on a bicycle, though some manufacturers have used other materials, including steel cable. In these systems, all the tension screws can then be tightened or loosened by one handle. Though far less common than pedal timpani, chain and cable drums still have practical uses. Occasionally, a player is forced to place a drum behind other items so that he cannot reach it with his foot. Professional players may also use exceptionally large or small chain and cable drums for special low or high notes.

Other tuning mechanisms[link]

A rare tuning mechanism allows the pitch of the head to be changed by rotating the drum itself. A similar system is used on rototoms. Jenco, a company better known for mallet percussion, made timpani tuned in this fashion.

In the early 20th century, Hans Schnellar, the timpanist of the Vienna Philhamonic, developed a tuning mechanism in which the bowl is moved via a handle that connects to the base, and the head remains stationary. These drums are referred to as Viennese timpani (Wiener Pauken) or Schnellar timpani. Adams Musical Instruments developed a pedal-operated version of this tuning mechanism in the early 21st century.

Timpani heads[link]

Like most drumheads, timpani heads can be made from two materials: animal skin (typically calfskin or goatskin)^[4] and plastic (typically PET film). Plastic heads are durable, weather resistant, and relatively inexpensive. Thus, they are more commonly used than natural skin heads. However, many professional players prefer skin heads because they produce a warmer, better quality timbre. Timpani heads are sized based on the size of the head, not the size of the timpani bowl. For example, a 23" drum may require a 25" head. This 2" size difference has been standardized by most timpani manufactures since 1978.^[8]

Sticks and mallets[link]

Timpanists use a variety of timpani sticks since each stick produces a different timbre.

Timpani are typically struck with a special type of drum stick fittingly called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani sticks are used in pairs. They have two components: a shaft and a head. The shaft is typically made from hardwood or bamboo but may also be made from aluminum or carbon fiber. The head of the stick can be constructed from a number of different materials, though felt wrapped around a wood core is the most common. Other core materials include compressed felt, cork, and leather, and other wrap materials include chamois. Unwrapped sticks with heads of wood, felt, flannel, and leather are also common.^[4] Wood sticks are used as a special effect—specifically requested by composers as early as the Romantic era—and in authentic performances of Baroque music.

Although not usually stated in the score, timpanists will change sticks—often many times within the same piece—to suit the nature of the music. However, the choice of stick during a performance is entirely subjective and depends on the timpanist's own preference and occasionally the wishes of the conductor. Thus, most timpanists own a great number of mallets.^[4] The weight of the stick, the size and latent surface area of the head, the materials used for the shaft, core, and wrap, and the method used to wrap the head all contribute to the timbre the stick produces.

In the early 20th century and before, sticks were often made with whalebone shafts, wood cores, and sponge wraps. Composers of that era often specified sponge-headed sticks. Modern timpanists execute such passages with standard felt mallets.

Popular grips[link]

^[jargon]

The two most common grips in playing the timpani are the German and French grips. In the German grip, the palm of the hand should be parallel to the drum head and the thumb should be on the side of the stick. In the French grip, the palm of the hand should be close to perpendicular with drum head and the thumb should be on top of the stick. In both of these styles, as with most percussion grips, the fulcrum consists of the contact between the thumb and middle finger. The index finger is used as a guide and to help lift the stick off of the drum.^[9] The American grip is a hybrid of these two grips. Another known grip is known as the Amsterdam Grip, made famous by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which is similar to the Hinger grip, except the stick is cradled on the lower knuckle of the index finger.

In the modern ensemble[link]

A standard set of timpani consists of four drums.

A set of timpani[link]

A standard set of timpani (sometimes called a console) consists of four drums: roughly 32 inches (81 cm), 29 inches (74 cm), 26 inches (66 cm), and 23 inches (58 cm) in diameter.^[10] The range of this set is roughly the D below the bass clef to the top-line bass clef A. A great majority of the orchestral repertoire can be played using these four drums. However, contemporary composers have written for extended ranges. Igor Stravinsky specifically writes for a piccolo timpano in The Rite of Spring, tuned to the B below middle C. A piccolo drum is typically 20 inches (51 cm) in diameter and can reach pitches up to middle C.

Beyond this extended set of five instruments, any added drums are nonstandard. (Luigi Nono's Al gran sole carico d'amore requires as many as eleven drums, with actual melodies played on them in octaves by two players.) Many professional orchestras and timpanists own more than just one set of timpani, allowing them to execute music that cannot be more accurately performed using a standard set of four or five drums and music that requires more than one set of timpani.

Many schools and ensembles unable to afford purchase of this equipment regularly rely on a set of two or three timpani, sometimes referred to as "the orchestral three".^[4] It consists of 29-inch (74 cm), 26-inch (66 cm), and 23-inch (58 cm) drums. Its range extends down only to the F below the bass clef.

The drums are set up in an arc around the performer. Traditionally, North American, British, and French timpanists set their drums up with the lowest drum on the left and the highest on the right (commonly called the American system), while German, Austrian, and Greek players set them up the opposite way (the German system).^[4] This distinction is not strict, as many North American players use the German setup and vice-versa.

Timpanists[link]

Balanced action timpani are often used in outdoor performances because of their durability.

Throughout their education, timpanists are trained as percussionists, and they learn to play all instruments of the percussion family along with timpani. However, when appointed to a principal timpani chair in a professional ensemble, a timpanist is not normally required to play any other instruments. In his book Anatomy of the Orchestra, Norman Del Mar writes that the timpanist is "king of his own province", and that "a good timpanist really does set the standard of the whole orchestra." A qualified member of the percussion section sometimes doubles as associate timpanist, performing in repertoire requiring multiple timpanists and filling in for the principal timpanist when required.

	Burleske noicon Richard Strauss's Burleske begins with the main theme played on the timpani.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

	"Jupiter" from The Planets suite (excerpt) In the beginning of "Jupiter" from Holst's The Planets, the two timpanists echo the main theme.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Timpani concertos[link]

A few concertos have been written for timpani. The 18th century composer Johann Fischer wrote a symphony for eight timpani and orchestra, which requires the solo timpanist to play eight drums simultaneously. Rough contemporaries Georg Druschetzky and Johann Melchior Molter also wrote pieces for timpani and orchestra.

Throughout the 19th century and much of the 20th, there were few new timpani concertos. In 1983, William Kraft, principal timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, composed his Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra, which won second prize in the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards. There have been other timpani concertos, notably, Philip Glass, considered one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century, wrote a double concerto titled Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, which features its soloists playing nine drums apiece.

Performance techniques[link]

Striking the drum[link]

For general playing, a timpanist will beat the head approximately 4 inches in from the edge.^[10] Beating at this spot produces the round, resonant sound commonly associated with timpani. A timpani roll (most commonly signaled in a score by tr) is executed by rapidly striking the drum, alternating between left and right sticks, extending the duration of the sound as required and allowing increases or decreases in volume. Anton Bruckner's 7th Symphony requires a continuous roll on a single drum for over two-and-a-half minutes. In general, timpanists do not use multiple bounce rolls like those played on the snare drum, as the soft nature of timpani sticks causes the rebound of the stick to be reduced, causing multiple bounce rolls to sound muffled.^[4]

The tone quality of the drum can be altered without switching sticks or adjusting the tuning of the drum. For example, by playing closer to the edge of the head, the sound becomes thinner.^[4] A more staccato sound can be produced by changing the velocity of the stroke or playing closer to the center of the head. There are many more variations in technique a timpanist uses during the course of playing to produce subtle timbral differences.

Tuning[link]

Prior to playing the instruments, the timpanist must clear the heads by equalizing the tension at each tuning screw. This is done so every spot on the head is tuned to exactly the same pitch. When the head is clear, the timpani will produce a beautiful, in-tune sound. If the head is not clear, the pitch of the drum will rise or fall after the initial impact, and the drum will produce different pitches at different dynamic levels. Timpanists are required to have a well-developed sense of relative pitch, and must develop techniques to tune undetectably and accurately in the middle of a performance.

Some timpani are equipped with tuning gauges, which provide a visual indication of the drum's pitch. They are physically connected either to the counterhoop, in which case the gauge indicates how far the counterhoop is pushed down, or the pedal, in which case the gauge indicates the position of the pedal. These gauges are accurate when used correctly. However, when the instrument is disturbed in some fashion (transported, for example), the overall pitch of the head can change, thus the markers on the gauges may not remain reliable unless they have been adjusted immediately preceding the performance. The pitch of the head can also be changed by room temperature and humidity. This effect also occurs due to changes in weather, especially if an outside performance is to take place. Gauges are especially useful when performing music that involves fast tuning changes that do not allow the player to listen to the new pitch before playing it. Even when gauges are available, good timpanists will check their intonation by ear before playing.

Occasionally, players use the pedals to retune a drum while playing it. Portamento effects can be achieved by changing the pitch of the drum while it can still be heard. This is commonly called a glissando, though this use of the term is not strictly correct. The most effective glissandos are those from low notes to high notes and those performed during rolls. One of the first composers to call for a timpani glissando was Carl Nielsen, who used two sets of timpani, both playing glissandos at the same time, in his Symphony No. 4 ("The Inextinguishable").

	Sonata for two pianos and percussion, first movement (excerpt) noicon This segment of Bartók's Sonata for two pianos and percussion features pedal glissandos during a timpani roll.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Pedaling refers to changing the pitch of the drum with the pedal; it is an alternate term for tuning. In general, timpanists reserve this term for passages where the performer must change the pitch of a drum in the midst of playing – for example, playing two consecutive notes of different pitches on the same drum. Early 20th century composers such as Nielsen, Béla Bartók, Samuel Barber, and Richard Strauss took advantage of the freedom pedal timpani afforded, often giving the timpani the bass line.

	Concerto for Orchestra (excerpt) noicon In this passage from the Intermezzo interrotto movement of Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, the timpanist plays a chromatic bass line, which requires using the pedal to change pitches.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Muffling[link]

Since timpani have a long sustain, muffling or dampening is an inherent part of playing timpani. Often, timpanists will muffle notes so they only sound for the length indicated by the composer. However, early drums did not resonate nearly as long as modern timpani, so composers often wrote a note when the timpanist was to hit the drum without concern of sustain. Today, timpanists must use their ear and the score of the piece to determine the actual length the note should sound.

The typical method of muffling is to place the pads of the fingers against the head while holding onto the timpani stick with the thumb and index finger. Timpanists are required to develop techniques to stop all vibration of the drumhead without making any sound from the contact of their fingers.^[10]

Muffling is often referred to as muting, which can also refer to playing the drums with mutes on them (see below).

Extended techniques[link]

It is typical for only one timpani to be struck at a time, but occasionally composers will ask for two notes to be struck at once. This is called a double stop, a term borrowed from the string instrument vocabulary. Ludwig von Beethoven uses this effect in the slow movement of his Ninth Symphony. These demands tend to be made by more modern composers who sometimes require more than two notes at once. In this case, a timpanist can hold two sticks in one hand much like a marimba performer would, or more than one timpanist can be employed. In his Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, for example, Hector Berlioz realizes fulls chords from the timpani section by requiring three timpanists and assigning one drum to each. He goes as far as ten timpanists playing three- and four-part chords on sixteen drums in his Requiem, although with the introduction of pedal tuning, this number can be reduced.

Modern composers will often specify the beating spot to alter the sound of the drum. When the timpani are struck directly in the center of the head, the drums have a sound that is almost completely devoid of tone and resonance. George Gershwin uses this effect in An American in Paris. Struck close to the edge, timpani produce a very thin, hollow sound. This effect is used by composers such as Bartók, Bernstein, and Kodály.

A variation of this is to strike the head while two fingers of one hand lightly press and release spots near the center. The head will then vibrate at a harmonic, much like the similar effect on a string instrument.

Resonance can cause drums not in use to vibrate, causing a more quiet sound to be produced. Timpanists must normally avoid this effect, called sympathetic resonance, but composers have exploited it in solo pieces such as Elliot Carter's Eight Pieces for Four Timpani. Resonance is reduced by damping or muting the drums, and in some cases composers will specify that timpani be played con sordino (with mute) or coperti (covered), both of which indicate that mutes—typically small pieces of felt or leather—should be placed on the head.

Composers will sometimes specify that the timpani should be struck with implements other than timpani sticks. It is common in timpani etudes and solos for performers to play with their hands or fingers. Philip Glass's "Concerto Fantasy" utilizes this technique during a timpani cadenza. Also, Michael Daugherty's "Raise The Roof" calls for this technique to be used for a certain passage. Leonard Bernstein calls for maracas on timpani in both the "Jeremiah" Symphony and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Edward Elgar attempts to use the timpani to imitate the engine of an ocean liner in his "Enigma" Variations by requesting the timpanist play a soft roll with snare drum sticks. However, snare drum sticks tend to produce too loud a sound, and since this work's premiere, the passage in question has been performed by striking the timpani with coins. Benjamin Britten asks for the timpanist to use drum sticks in his War Requiem to evoke the sound of a field drum.

Robert W. Smith's Songs of Sailor and Sea calls for a "whale sound" on the timpani. This is achieved by moistening the thumb and rubbing it from the edge to the center of the drumhead. Amongst other techniques used primarily in solo work, such as John Beck's Sonata for Timpani, is striking the copper bowls. Timpanists tend to be reluctant to strike the bowls at loud dynamic levels or with hard sticks, since copper can be dented easily due to its soft nature.

On some occasions a composer may ask for a metal object, commonly an upside-down cymbal, to be placed upon the drumhead and then struck or rolled while executing a glissando on the drum. Joseph Schwantner used this technique in From A Dark Millennium. Carl Orff asks for cymbals resting on the drumhead while the drum is struck in his later works. Additionally, Michael Daugherty, in his concerto "Raise The Roof," utilizes this technique.

History[link]

Pre-orchestral history[link]

It has been said that the first recorded use of early Tympanum was in "ancient times when it is known that they were used in religious ceremonies by Hebrews."^[10]

The Moon of Pejeng, also known as the Pejeng Moon,^[11] in Bali, the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world,^[12] is more than two thousand years old.^[13] The Moon of Pejeng is "the largest known relic from Southeast Asia's Bronze Age period. According to Balinese legend, the Pejeng Moon was a wheel of the chariot that pulled the real moon through the night sky. One night, as the chariot was passing over Pejeng, the wheel detached and fell to earth, landing in a tree, where it glowed nearly as brightly as the real moon. This light disturbed a thief who, annoyed, climbed the tree and urinated on it; the thief paid for his sacrilege with his life. The moon eventually cooled and has been preserved as a sacred relic by the local villagers.^[14] The drum is in the Pura Penataran Asih temple."^[15]

A naqareh from Rajasthan, India

In 1188, Cambro-Norman chronicler Gerald of Wales wrote, "Ireland uses and delights in two instruments only, the harp namely, and the tympanum."^[16]

Arabic nakers, the direct ancestors of most timpani, were brought to 13th century Continental Europe by Crusaders and Saracens.^[6] These drums, which were small (with a diameter of about 20–22 cm or 8–8½ in) and mounted to the player's belt, were used primarily for military ceremonies. This form of timpani remained in use until the 16th century.

In 1457, a Hungarian legation sent by King Ladislaus V carried larger timpani mounted on horseback to the court of King Charles VII in France. This variety of timpani had been used in the Middle East since the 12th century. These drums evolved together with trumpets to be the primary instruments of the cavalry. This practice continues to this day in sections of the British Army, and timpani continued to be paired with trumpets when they entered the classical orchestra.

Over the next two centuries, a number of technical improvements were made to timpani. Originally, the head was nailed directly to the shell of the drum. In the 15th century, heads began to be attached and tensioned by a counterhoop that was tied directly to the shell. In the early 16th century, the bindings were replaced by screws. This allowed timpani to become tunable instruments of definite pitch.^[4]

Timpani in the orchestra[link]

Jean-Baptiste Lully is the first known composer to have scored for timpani, which he included in the orchestra for his 1675 opera Thésée. (Earlier uses were likely, but poorly documented.) Other seventeenth-century composers soon followed suit. At that time, timpani were almost always tuned with the tonic note of the piece on the high drum and the dominant on the low drum – a perfect fourth apart. Timpani were often treated as transposing instruments in the music of this period: the notes were written as C and G with the actual pitches indicated at the top of the score (for example, Timpani in D–A).^[6]

Later in the Baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a secular cantata titled "Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!", which translates roughly to "Sound off, ye timpani! Sound, trumpets!" Naturally, the timpani are placed at the forefront: the piece starts with a timpani solo and the chorus and timpani trade the melody back and forth. Bach reworked this movement in part 1 of the Christmas Oratorio.

Ludwig van Beethoven revolutionized timpani music in the early 19th century. He not only wrote for drums tuned to intervals other than a fourth or fifth, but he gave a prominence to the instrument as an independent voice beyond programmatic use (as in Bach's "Tönet, ihr Pauken!"). For example, his Violin Concerto (1806) opens with four solo timpani strokes, and the scherzo of his Ninth Symphony (1824) sets the timpani against the orchestra in a sort of call and response.^[17]

The next major innovator was Hector Berlioz. He was the first composer to indicate the exact sticks that should be used – "felt-covered", "wooden", etc. In several of his works, including Symphonie fantastique (1830), he demanded the use of several timpanists at once.^[10]

Until the late 19th century, timpani were hand-tuned; that is, there was a sequence of screws with T-shaped handles, called taps, which altered the tension in the head when turned by players. Thus, tuning was a relatively slow operation, and composers had to allow a reasonable amount of time for players to change notes if they were called to tune in the middle of a work. The first 'machine' timpani, with a single tuning handle, was developed in 1812.^[18] The first pedal timpani originated in Dresden in the 1870s and are called Dresden timpani for this reason.^[6] However, since vellum was used for the heads of the drums, automated solutions were difficult to implement since the tension would vary unpredictably across the drum. This could be compensated for by hand-tuning, but not easily by a pedal drum. Mechanisms continued to improve in the early 20th century.

Despite these problems, composers eagerly exploited the opportunities the new mechanism had to offer. By 1915, Carl Nielsen was demanding glissandos on timpani in his Fourth Symphony—impossible on the old hand-tuned drums. However, it took Béla Bartók to more fully realize the flexibility the new mechanism had to offer. Many of his timpani parts require such a range of notes that it would be unthinkable to attempt them without pedal drums.

Timpani outside the orchestra[link]

This 1976 photograph shows marching timpani grounded with legs extended.

John Bonham of Led Zeppelin with a timpano.

Later, timpani were adopted into other classical music ensembles such as concert bands. In the 1970s, marching bands and drum and bugle corps, which evolved both from traditional marching bands and concert bands, began to include marching timpani. Unlike concert timpani, marching versions had fiberglass shells to make them light enough to carry. Each player carried a single drum, which was tuned by a hand crank. Often, during intricate passages, the timpani players would put their drums on the ground by means of extendable legs, and performed more like conventional timpani, yet with a single player per drum. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, marching arts-based organizations' allowance for timpani and other percussion instruments to be permanently grounded became mainstream. This was the beginning of the end for marching timpani: Eventually, standard concert timpani found their way onto the football field as part of the front ensemble, and marching timpani fell out of common usage.

Timpani are still used by the Mounted Bands of the Household Division of the British Army.^[19]

As rock and roll bands started seeking to diversify their sound, timpani found their way into the studio. In 1959 Leiber and Stoller made the innovative use of timpani in their production of the Drifters' recording, "There Goes My Baby." Starting in the 1960s, drummers for high profile rock acts like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, and Queen incorporated timpani into their music. This led to the use of timpani in progressive rock. Emerson, Lake & Palmer recorded a number of rock covers of classical pieces that utilize timpani. More recently, the rock band Muse has incorporated timpani into some of their classically based songs, most notably in Exogenesis: Symphony, Part I (Overture).

Jazz musicians also experimented with timpani. Sun Ra used it occasionally in his Arkestra (played, for example, by percussionist Jim Herndon on the songs "Reflection in Blue" and "El Viktor," both recorded in 1957). In 1964, Elvin Jones incorporated timpani into his drum kit on John Coltrane's four-part composition A Love Supreme.

Jonathan Haas is one of the few timpanists who markets himself as a soloist. Haas, who began his career as a solo timpanist in 1980, is notable for performing music from many genres including jazz, rock, and classical. In fact, he released an album with a rather unconventional jazz band called Johnny H. and the Prisoners of Swing. Glass's Concerto Fantasy, commissioned by Haas, put two soloists in front of the orchestra, an atypical placement for the instruments. Haas also commissioned Susman's "Floating Falling" for timpani and cello.

List of selected works for timpani[link]

• Béla Bartók
  • Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta

• João Victor Bota
  • Labirinto for 5 timpani

• Elliott Carter
  • Eight Pieces for Four Timpani

• Georg Druschetzky
  • Concerto for Six Timpani
  • Partita in C

• Philip Glass
  • Concerto Fantasy for two Timpanists and Orchestra

• Christoph Graupner
  • Symphony for 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Viola, and Timpani

• Gordon Jacob
  • Concerto for Wind Band, Timpani, and Orchestra

• Mauricio Kagel
  • Konzertstück for timpani and orchestra

• William Kraft
  • Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra

• Johann Melchior Molter
  • Symphony No. 99

• François-André Danican Philidor
  • March for Two Pairs of Kettledrums

• Ney Rosauro
  • Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra

• William Susman
  • Floating Falling for Timpani and Cello

• Jörg Widmann
  • Con brio for Orchestra (and Timpani Soloist)

See also[link]

Look up timpani in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• List of timpani manufacturers
• Electronic tuner
• Naqareh
• Missing fundamental
• Vibrations of a drum head

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Adler, Samuel. The Study of Orchestration. W. W. Norton & Company, 3rd edition, 2002. ISBN 0-393-97572-X
• Del Mar, Norman. Anatomy of the Orchestra. University of California Press, 1984. ISBN 0-520-05062-2
• Ferrell, Robert G. "Percussion in Medieval and Renaissance Dance Music: Theory and Performance". 1997. Retrieved February 22, 2006.
• Montagu, Jeremy. Timpani & Percussion. Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09337-3
• Peters, Mitchell. Fundamental Method for Timpani. Alfred Publishing Co., 1993. ISBN 0-7390-2051-X
• Solomon, Samuel Z. How to Write for Percussion. Published by the author, 2002. ISBN 0-9744721-0-7
• Thomas, Dwight. Timpani: Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved February 4, 2005.
• Zoutendijk, Marc. Letters to Flamurai. February 8, 2005.
• "Credits: Beatles for Sale". Allmusic. Retrieved February 18, 2005.
• "Credits: A Love Supreme". Allmusic. Retrieved February 18, 2005.
• "Credits: Tubular Bells". Allmusic. Retrieved February 18, 2005.
• "Kettledrum". 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica as retrieved from [1] on February 26, 2006.
• "William Kraft Biography". Composer John Beal. Retrieved May 21, 2006.
• "Timpanist - Musician or Technician?". Cloyd E. Duff, Principal Timpani - retired - Cleveland Orchestra.
• "Timpani" Grove, George (January 2001). Stanley Sadie. ed. The New Grove Encyclopædia of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). Grove's Dictionaries of Music. Volume 18, pp826–837. ISBN 1-56159-239-0. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Timpani

Listen to this article (info/dl)

This audio file was created from a revision of the "Timpani" article dated 2008-06-12, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

• Timpani FAQ by Dwight Thomas, Principal Timpanist, Omaha Symphony
• Timpani picture album featuring antique instruments and those in the collection of the RCO
• Gallery of historical artwork featuring timpani
• Videos of Tim Genis, Principal Timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, demonstrating his line of timpani mallets by performing excerpts from orchestral repertoire
• Video of Stuart Marrs, chairman of the University of Maine music department, performing the March from Eight Pieces for Four Timpani
• The Well-Tempered Timpani—Timpani harmonics information
• Website of Guido Rückel, solo-timpanist of Munich Philharmonic; many timpani pictures
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kettledrum". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Elliott Cook Carter Jr.

Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (born December 11, 1908) is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music. His compositions, which have been performed all over the world, include orchestral and chamber music as well as solo instrumental and vocal works.

He has been extremely productive in his later years, publishing more than 40 works between the ages of 90 and 100,^[1] and over 14 more since he turned 100 in 2008.^[2]

Biography[link]

Carter's father, Elliott Carter Sr., was a businessman and his mother was the former Florence Chambers. The family was well-to-do. As a teenager, he developed an interest in music and was encouraged in this regard by the composer Charles Ives (who sold insurance to his family). In 1924, a galvanized 15-year-old Carter was in the audience when Pierre Monteux conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the New York première of The Rite of Spring, according to a 2008 report. Carter was again in attendance (see below) at Carnegie Hall, on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2008, when the orchestra, now under the baton of James Levine, again performed the Stravinsky piece as part of its tribute to Carter.^[3] Although Carter majored in English at Harvard College, he also studied music there and at the nearby Longy School of Music. His professors included Walter Piston and Gustav Holst. He sang with the Harvard Glee Club. He did graduate work in music at Harvard, from which he received a Master's degree in music in 1932. He then went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger (as did many other American composers). Carter worked with Mlle Boulanger from 1932–35 and in 1935 he received a doctorate in music (D Mus) from the Ecole Normale in Paris. Later in 1935, he returned to the US where he wrote music for the Ballet Caravan.

From 1940 to 1944, Carter taught in the program, including music, at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. On July 6, 1939, Carter married Helen Frost-Jones. They had one child, a son, David Chambers Carter. During World War II, Carter worked for the Office of War Information. He later held teaching posts at the Peabody Conservatory (1946–1948), Columbia University, Queens College, New York (1955–56), Yale University (1960–62), Cornell University (from 1967) and the Juilliard School (from 1972). In 1967, he was appointed a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1981, he was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, in 1985 the National Medal of Arts. Carter has lived in Greenwich Village since 1945.^[1]

On December 11, 2008, Carter celebrated his 100th birthday at Carnegie Hall in New York, where the Boston Symphony Orchestra and pianist Daniel Barenboim played his Interventions for Piano and Orchestra from 2008. Between the ages of 90 and 100, Carter published more than 40 works, and after his 100th birthday he has composed at least 14 more.^[1]

On February 7, 2009, Carter was given the Trustees Award (a lifetime achievement award given to non-performers) by the Grammy Awards.^[4]

Carter is on the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center where he gives annual composition master classes.

Style and works[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)

Carter's earlier works are influenced by Stravinsky, Harris, Copland, and Hindemith, and are mainly neoclassical in aesthetic. He had a strict and thorough training in counterpoint, from medieval polyphony through Stravinsky, and this shows in his earliest music, such as the ballet Pocahontas (1938–39). Some of his music during the Second World War is frankly diatonic, and includes a melodic lyricism reminiscent of Samuel Barber.

His music after 1950 is typically atonal and rhythmically complex, indicated by the invention of the term metric modulation to describe the frequent, precise tempo changes found in his work. While Carter's chromaticism and tonal vocabulary parallels serial composers of the period, Carter does not employ serial techniques in his music. Rather he independently developed and cataloged all possible collections of pitches (i.e., all possible three-note chords, five-note chords, etc.). Musical theorists like Allen Forte later systematized these data into musical set theory. A series of works in the 1960s and 1970s generates its tonal material by using all possible chords of a particular number of pitches.

The Piano Concerto (1964–65) uses the collection of three-note chords for its pitch material; the Third String Quartet (1971) uses all four-note chords; the Concerto for Orchestra (1969) all five-note chords; and the Symphony of Three Orchestras uses the collection of six-note chords. Carter also makes frequent use of "tonic" 12-note chords. Of particular interest are "all-interval" 12-tone chords where every interval is represented within adjacent notes of the chord. His 1980 solo piano work Night Fantasies uses the entire collection of the 88 symmetrical-inverted all-interval 12 note chords. Typically, the pitch material is segmented between instruments, with a unique set of chords or sets assigned to each instrument or orchestral section. This stratification of material, with individual voices assigned not only their own unique pitch material, but texture and rhythm as well, is a key component of Carter's musical style. Carter's music after Night Fantasies has been termed his late period and his tonal language has become less systematized and more intuitive, but retains the basic characteristics of his earlier works.

Carter's use of rhythm can best be understood within the concept of stratification. Each instrumental voice is typically assigned its own set of tempos. A structural polyrhythm, where a very slow polyrhythm is used as a formal device, is present in many of Carter's works. Night Fantasies, for example, uses a 216:175 tempo relation that coincides at only two points in the entire 20+ minute composition. This use of rhythm is part of his goal to expand the notion of counterpoint to encompass simultaneous different characters, even entire movements, rather than just individual lines.

Carter developed his technique to further his artistic goals. His use of rhythm allows his music a structured fluidity and sense of time perhaps unique in classical music. The music also is overtly expressive and dramatic. He has said that "I regard my scores as scenarios, auditory scenarios, for performers to act out with their instruments, dramatizing the players as individuals and participants in the ensemble."^{[cite this quote]} He has also talked about his desire to portray a "different form of motion," in which players are not locked in step with the downbeat of every measure.

He has said that such steady pulses remind him of soldiers marching or horses trotting, sounds that are not heard anymore in the late 20th century, and he wants his music to capture the sort of continuous acceleration or deceleration experienced in an automobile or an airplane. While Carter's atonal music shows little trace of American popular music or jazz, his vocal music has demonstrated strong ties to contemporary American poetry. He has set works of Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery, Robert Lowell, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, Ezra Pound, and Marianne Moore. Several of his large instrumental works such as the Concerto for Orchestra or Symphony of Three Orchestras are inspired by twentieth-century poets as well.

Among his better known works are the Variations for Orchestra (1954–5); the Double Concerto for harpsichord, piano and two chamber orchestras (1959–61); the Piano Concerto (1964–65), written as an 85th birthday present for Igor Stravinsky; the Concerto for Orchestra (1969), loosely based on a poem by Saint-John Perse; and the Symphony of Three Orchestras (1976). He has also written five string quartets,^[5] of which the second and third won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1960 and 1973 respectively. Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei (1993–1996) is his largest orchestral work, complex in structure and featuring contrasting layers of instrumental textures, from delicate wind solos to crashing brass and percussion outbursts.

In spite of a usually rigorous derivation of all pitch content of a piece from a source chord, or series of chords, Carter never abandons lyricism, and ensures that a text is sung intelligibly, sometimes even simply. In A Mirror on Which to Dwell (1975) (based on poems by Elizabeth Bishop) Carter writes colorful, subtle, transparently clear music; yet almost every pitch in the piece is derived from the content of a single sonority. Most of Carter's music is published by either G. Schirmer/Associated Music Publishers (works up to 1981) or Boosey & Hawkes (works since 1981).

Carter continues composing. Interventions for Piano and Orchestra received its premiere on December 5, 2008, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine featuring pianist Daniel Barenboim at Symphony Hall in Boston. The pianist reprised the work again with the BSO at Carnegie Hall in New York in the presence of the composer on his 100th birthday.^[1] Carter was also present at the 2009 Aldeburgh Festival to hear the world premiere of his song-cycle On Conversing with Paradise, based on Ezra Pound's Canto 95 (from the section Rock-Drill) and one of Pound's 'Notes' intended for later Cantos, and usually published at the end of the Cantos. ^[6] The premiere was given on June 20, 2009 by baritone Leigh Melrose and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group conducted by Oliver Knussen.^[7]

Figment V for marimba with Simon Boyar was premiered in New York on 2 May 2009 and Poems of Louis Zukofsky for soprano and clarinet had its first performance by Lucy Shelton and Stanley Drucker at the Tanglewood Festival on August 9, 2009. The US premiere of the Flute Concerto took place on February 4, 2010, with soloist Elizabeth Rowe and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine.

Partial list of works[link]

Ballet[link]

• Pocahontas (1938–39)
• The Minotaur (1947)

Chamber[link]

• Canonic Suite for saxophone quartet (AAAA) (1939)
• Elegy for viola and piano (1943)
• Piano Sonata (1945–46)
• Cello Sonata (1948)
• Woodwind Quintet (1948)
• Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for wind quartet (1949) [2]
• String Quartet No. 1 (1951)
• Sonata for flute, oboe, cello, and harpsichord (1952)
• String Quartet No. 2 (1959)
• Canon for 3 (1971)
• String Quartet No. 3 (1971)
• Brass Quintet (1974)
• Duo for violin and piano (1974)
• Birthday Fanfare for three trumpets, vibraphone, and glockenspiel (1978)
• Triple Duo (1983)
• Esprit rude/esprit doux for flute and clarinet (1984)
• Canon for 4 (1984)
• String Quartet No. 4 (1986)
• Enchanted Prelude for flute and cello (1988)
• Con leggerezza pensosa for clarinet, violin, and cello (1990)
• Quintet for piano and winds (1991)
• Trilogy for oboe and harp (1992)

1. Bariolage for harp
2. Inner Song for oboe
3. Immer Neu for oboe and harp

• Esprit rude/esprit doux II for flute, clarinet, and marimba (1994)
• Fragment I for string quartet (1994)
• String Quartet No.5 (1995)
• Luimen for ensemble (1997)
• Quintet for piano and string quartet (1997)
• Fragment II for string quartet (1999)
• Oboe Quartet, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello (2001)
• Hiyoku for two clarinets (2001)
• Au Quai for bassoon and viola (2002)
• Call for two trumpets and horn (2003)
• Clarinet Quintet (2007)
• Tintinnabulation for percussion sextet (2008)
• Tre Duetti for violin and cello (2008, 2009)

1. Duettone
2. Adagio
3. Duettino

• Trije glasbeniki for flute, bass clarinet, and harp (2011)
• String Trio (2011)
• Double Trio for trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin and cello (2011)

Choral[link]

• Tarantella for men's chorus and two pianos (1937)
• Let's Be Gay for women's chorus and two pianos (1937)
• Harvest Home for a capella choir (1937)
• To Music for a capella choir (1937)
• Heart Not So Heavy for a capella choir (1939)
• The Defense of Corinth for speaker, men's chorus and piano four hands (1941)
• The Harmony of Morning for women's chorus and chamber orchestra (1944)
• Musicians Wrestle Everywhere for a capella choir (1945)
• Emblems for men's chorus and piano (1947)

Concertante[link]

• Double Concerto for piano, harpsichord and 2 chamber orchestras (1959–61)
• Piano Concerto (1964)
• Concerto for Orchestra (1969)
• Oboe Concerto (1986–1987)
• Violin Concerto (1989)
• Clarinet Concerto (1996)
• Cello Concerto (2001)
• Boston Concerto (2002)
• Dialogues for piano and chamber orchestra (2003)
• Mosaic for harp and ensemble (2004)
• Horn Concerto (2007)
• Flute Concerto (2008)
• Concertino for bass clarinet and chamber orchestra (2009)
• Conversations for piano, percussion, and chamber/full orchestra (2010)
• Two Controversies and a Conversation for piano, percussion, and chamber/full orchestra (2011)

Large ensemble[link]

• Penthode for ensemble (1985)
• ASKO Concerto for sixteen players (2000)
• Réflexions for ensemble (2004)
• Wind Rose for wind ensemble (2008)

Opera[link]

• What Next? (opera in one act) (1997)

Orchestra[link]

• Symphony No. 1 (1942, revised 1954)
• Holiday Overture (1944, revised 1961)
• Variations for orchestra (1954–1955)
• A Symphony of Three Orchestras (1976)
• Three Occasions for orchestra (1986–89)

1. A Celebration of Some 150x100 Notes
2. Remembrance
3. Anniversary

• Symphonia: Sum fluxae pretium spei (1993–96)

1. Partita
2. Adagio Tenebroso
3. Allegro Scorrevole

• Three Illusions for orchestra (2002–04)

1. Micomicón
2. Fons Juventatis
3. More's Utopia

• Soundings for piano and orchestra (2005)
• Interventions for piano and orchestra (2007)
• Sound Fields for string orchestra (2007)

Solo instrumental[link]

• Piano Sonata (1945–46)
• Eight Pieces for Four Timpani (1949/66)
• Night Fantasies for piano (1980)
• Changes for guitar (1983)
• Scrivo in Vento for flute (1991)
• Gra for clarinet (1994)
• 90+ for piano (1994)
• Figment for cello (1994)
• A 6-letter Letter for English horn (1996)
• Shard for guitar (1997)
• Two Diversions for piano (1999)
• Four Lauds for solo violin (1999, 1984, 2000, 1999)

1. I. Statement – Remembering Aaron
2. II. Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi
3. III. Rhapsodic Musings
4. IV. Fantasy – Remembering Roger

• Retrouvailles for piano (2000)
• Figment II for cello (2001)
• Steep Steps for bass clarinet (2001)
• Retracing for bassoon (2002)
• Intermittences for piano (2005)
• Caténaires for piano (2006)
• HBHH for oboe (2007)
• Figment III for contrabass (2007)
• Figment IV for viola (2007)
• Tri-Tribute for piano (2007, 2008)

1. "Matribute"
2. "Fratribute"
3. "Sistribute"

• Figment V for marimba (2009)
• Retracing II for horn (2009)
• Retracing III for trumpet (2009)

Voice[link]

• My Love Is in a Light Attire for voice and piano (1928)
• Tell Me Where Is Fancy Bred for voice and guitar (1938)
• A Mirror on Which to Dwell for soprano and ensemble (1975)
• Syringa for mezzo-soprano, bass-baritone, guitar, and ensemble (1978)
• Three Poems of Robert Frost for baritone and ensemble (1942, orchestrated 1980)
• In Sleep, in Thunder for tenor and ensemble (1981)
• Of Challenge and of Love for soprano and piano (1994)
• Tempo e Tempi for soprano, oboe, clarinet, violin, and cello (1998–99)
• Of Rewaking for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (2002)
• In the Distances of Sleep for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra (2006)
• Mad Regales for six solo voices (2007)
• La Musique for solo voice (2007)
• Poems of Louis Zukofsky (2008) for mezzo-soprano and clarinet
• On Conversing with Paradise (2008) for baritone and chamber orchestra
• What Are Years (2009) for soprano and chamber orchestra
• A Sunbeam's Architecture (2010) for tenor and chamber orchestra
• Three Explorations (2011) for bass-baritone, winds, and brass

Partial discography[link]

• Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello and Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras. Paul Jacobs, hpschd; Joel Krosnick, cello; Gilbert Kalish, piano; The Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Arthur Weisberg, cond. Elektra/Nonesuch 9 79183-2.
• String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2. The Composers Quartet. Elektra/Nonesuch 9 71249-2
• Piano Concerto; Variations for Orchestra. Ursula Oppens, piano; Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Michael Gielen, cond. New World Records, NW 347–2.
• Triple Duo; Clarinet Concerto; short pieces. Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Lorraine Vaillancourt, cond. ATMA Classique, ACD2 2280.
• Complete Music for Piano. Charles Rosen, Piano. Bridge 9090.
• Vocal Works (1975–81): A Mirror on Which to Dwell; In Sleep, In Thunder; Syringa; Three Poems of Robert Frost. Speculum Musicae with Katherine Ciesinki, mezzo; Jon Garrison, tenor; Jan Opalach, bass; Christine Schadeberg, soprano. Bridge, BCD 9014.
• Dialogues; Boston Concerto; Cello Concerto; ASKO Concerto. Nicolas Hodges, piano; Fred Sherry, cello; London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, ASKO Ensemble, Oliver Knussen, cond. Bridge 9184.

Notable students[link]

• Ronald Caltabiano
• Joel Chadabe
• Alvin Curran
• Joel Hoffman
• Tod Machover
• Jeffrey Mumford
• Tobias Picker
• David Schiff
• William Schimmel
• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

References[link]

Doering, William T. Elliott Carter: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press, 1993.

Interviews[link]

• Elliott Carter interview by Bruce Duffie, June 1986
• American Gothic: An Interview with Elliott Carter, by Andy Carvin, 1992
• A January 1994 interview with Elliott Carter by Phil Lesh
• NewMusicBox: Elliott Carter in conversation with Frank J. Oteri, 2000
• MusicMavericks.PublicRadio.org: An interview with Elliot Carter by Alan Baker, Minnesota Public Radio, July 2002
• Radical Connections on Counterstream Radio: Elliott Carter and Phil Lesh in Conversation, December 2007]
• Elliott Carter Centenary Podcast, an interview with Frank J. Oteri, November 27, 2007
• TV Interview (with Daniel Barenboim and James Levine) by Charlie Rose, December 10, 2008

Listening[link]

• Elliott Carter: A Life In Music, a documentary (1983)
• Art of the States: Elliott Carter four works by the composer
• Elliott Carter interview from American Mavericks site
• Excerpts from sound archives of Carter's works

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Elliott Carter

• Yale University Library: Research Guide to Elliott Carter's Life and Music
• Elliott Carter by photographer Philippe Gontier
• Elliott Carter: A Centennial Portrait in Letters and Documents by Felix Meyer & Anne C. Shreffler published by the Boydell Press in association with the Paul Sacher Foundation.
• Elliott Carter at G. Schirmer/AMP
• Elliott Carter at Boosey and Hawkes
• The String Quartets of Elliott Carter Booklet note for recording by the Arditti Quartet of Quartets 1–4 and Elegy (1988 ETCETERA KTC 1065/1066), by David Harvey
• CompositionToday – Elliot Carter article and review of works
• http://web.archive.org/web/20080201015213/http://www.carter100.com/ Elliott Carter Centenary 2008]
• John Link's Analysis of Night Fantasies
• Joshua B. Mailman's "Imagined Drama of Competitive Opposition in Carter's Scrivo in Vento (with Notes on Narrative, Symmetry, Quantitative Flux and Heraclitus)"
• (French) A biography of Elliott Carter, from IRCAM's website.
• Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts

Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob (5 July 1895 – 8 June 1984) was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.

Life[link]

Born in London, the third youngest of ten siblings, Jacob was educated at Dulwich College in South London, England. His career almost ended before it began. He enlisted in the Field Artillery to serve in World War I when he was 19. The vagaries of war pushed him into the infantry, in the trenches in the front line. He was taken prisoner of war in 1917, and was one of only 60 men in his battalion of 800 to survive. He amused himself and his fellow POWs by forming a small prison camp "orchestra" of any instruments they could muster, and arranging music for it. At this period he received the news that his brother Anstey, who had enlisted with him, had died on the Somme, and this he commemorated some years later in his first Symphony.^[1]

After being released he spent a year studying journalism, but left to study composition, theory, and conducting at the Royal College of Music. Because of his cleft palate and a childhood hand injury, his instrumental abilities were limited; he studied piano but never had a performing career. Jacob's first major successful piece was composed during his student years: the William Byrd Suite for orchestra, after a collection of pieces for the virginals. It is better-known in a later arrangement for symphonic band. While a student Jacob was asked by Ralph Vaughan Williams to arrange the latter's English Folk Song Suite for full orchestra.

He taught at the Royal College of Music from 1924 until his retirement in 1966. Malcolm Arnold, Frank Bury, Ruth Gipps, Imogen Holst, Cyril Smith, Philip Cannon and Robert Turner were among his students. Jacob became a Fellow of the Royal College in 1946, and throughout his career often wrote pieces for particular students and faculties.

In the 1930s Jacob, along with several other young composers, wrote for the Sadlers Wells Ballet Company. His one original ballet, Uncle Remus, was written for them, but most of his contributions were arrangements of established works, such as Les Sylphides, for which his version remains in use, though the rival orchestration by Roy Douglas has been more often recorded for disc. Later ballet scores arranged by Jacob include Mam'zelle Angot, (based on Charles Lecocq's music, which remains in the repertoire of the Royal Ballet) and, in 1958, London Morning, composed for the London Festival Ballet by Noël Coward and orchestrated by Jacob.

Jacob also contributed light music to a morale-boosting comedy radio show during World War II, which earned him the disdain of the musical elitists and the appreciation of the public. He also wrote music for several propaganda films.

In the 1940s he was commissioned, on the recommendation of Sir Adrian Boult to orchestrate Elgar's Organ Sonata. A recording of this version was made in 1988 by EMI.

The height of his renown was in the 1950s, during which his Music for a Festival was used for the 1951 Festival of Britain, and his trumpet-heavy fanfare arrangement of the National Anthem was used for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

After his retirement from the Royal College in 1966, he continued to support himself by composing, often on commission. He describes many of the works as "unpretentious little pieces", though some of his most important works were published during this time, including his Concerto for Timpani and Wind Band in 1984.

Jacob married twice, once in 1924 to Sidney Gray, who died in 1958, and again a year after her death, to her niece Margaret Gray, in 1959. He had two children by Margaret, who was 42 years his junior. He died in Saffron Walden in 1984.

There is a 1959 BBC documentary about his life, Gordon Jacob, directed by Ken Russell, as well as a 1995 book by Eric Wetherell entitled Gordon Jacob: a Centenary Biography.

Music[link]

Jacob was one of the most musically conservative of his generation of composers. Though he studied with Vaughan Williams and Stanford at the Royal College, Jacob preferred the more austere Baroque and Classical models to the Romanticism of his peers, and stuck to this aesthetic even in the face of the trends toward atonality and serialism.

This conservatism later caused his works to fall out of fashion when the 1960s establishment favoured the avant-garde. Jacob held the movement in little regard, saying "I personally feel repelled by the intellectual snobbery of some progressive artists... the day that melody is discarded altogether, you may as well pack up music...".

He was a skilful writer for winds, and a good deal of his present-day reputation is because he embraced the wind band, which had begun coming into its own as a concert ensemble. Additionally, he published solo and chamber literature at various levels of difficulty for nearly all the wind instruments, many of which are now standard items in the pedagogical and performing repertoires.

Jacob was prolific, publishing over 400 pieces of music in addition to his four books and numerous essays on music.

Partial list of works[link]

• Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1925)
• Concerto for Piano and Strings (1927)
• An Original Suite for Military Band (1928)
• String Quartet (1928)
• Symphony no. 1 (1928–9)
• Double Concerto for Clarinet and Trumpet (1929)
• Variations on an Air by Purcell (1930), string orchestra
• Passacaglia on a Well-Known Theme (Oranges and Lemons) (1931)
• Concerto for Oboe and Strings (1933)
• Uncle Remus (1934), ballet
• Variations on an Original Theme (1936);
• Suite no. 1 on F (1939)
• Clarinet Quintet (1940)
• Symphony no. 2 (1943–4)
• Concerto for Bassoon, Strings, and Percussion (1947)
• Suite no. 2 (1948–9);
• Suite no. 3 (1949)
• Fantasia on the Alleluia Hymn (1949)
• Serenade (1950), woodwind octet
• The Nun's Priest's Tale (1951), chorus and orchestra
• Music for a Festival (1951), concert band
• Concerto for Horn and Strings (1951)
• Concerto for Flute and Strings(1952)
• Scherzo for Two Trumpets, Horn, and Trombone (1952)
• Concerto for Violin and Strings (1954)
• Concerto for Cello and Strings (1955)
• Prelude and Toccata (1955), orchestra
• Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra (1956)
• Piano Trio (1956)
• Oboe Concerto no. 2 (1956)
• Piano Concerto no. 2 (1957)
• The Pied Piper, 2 unaccompanied pieces for solo flute/piccolo: The Spell (solo flute) and March to the River Weser (solo piccolo) (1958)
• Overture for Strings (1964)
• Divertimento (1968), 8 winds
• Suite for Bassoon and String Quartet (1968) for William Waterhouse
• Concerto for Piano Duet (3 hands) and Orchestra (1969)
• Partita for Bassoon (1970) for William Waterhouse
• Introduction and Rondo (1972), clarinet choir
• Suite for Tuba and Strings (1972)
• Five Pieces for Clarinet (Unaccompanied) (1973)
• Fantasia for Euphonium and Wind Band (1974)
• Pro Corda Suite (1977), string quartet and string orchestra
• Symphony AD 78 (1978), concert band
• Sonata for Viola and Piano (1978)
• Cameos (1978)
• Viola Concerto no. 2 (1979)
• Concerto for Timpani and Wind Band (1984)

Books[link]

• Orchestral Technique (1931)
• How to Read a Score (1944)
• The Composer and his Art (1955)
• The Elements of Orchestration (1962)

References[link]

• Eric Wetherell, "Gordon Jacob". Grove Music Online
• Dr Geoff Ogram (February 2004). "Gordon Jacob (1895 – 1984)". http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/Feb04/Gordon_Jacob.htm. 

External links[link]

• Official site: gordonjacob.org
• Gordon Jacob, British Composer

Notes[link]

Matt Jordan

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Michael Jordan
Date of birth	(1975-10-13) October 13, 1975 (age 36)
Place of birth	Aurora, Colorado, United States
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1994–1997	Clemson Tigers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2002	Dallas Burn	114	(0)
1998	→ MLS Pro 40 (loan)	12	(0)
2003–2004	Odense BK	2	(0)
2004–2005	Columbus Crew	3	(0)
2006	Colorado Rapids	0	(0)
2007–2010	Montreal Impact	80	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 24, 2010. † Appearances (Goals).

Matt Jordan (born October 13, 1975 in Aurora, Colorado) is a former soccer goalkeeper. He is currently the Director of Soccer Operations for the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer.

Career[link]

Youth and College[link]

Jordan graduated from Overland High School in Aurora, and played college soccer at Clemson University from 1994 to 1997, for whom he started 80 total games, and was named a first-team All-American in 1997 while leading the Tigers to the NCAA quarterfinals.

Professional[link]

Upon graduating, Jordan was selected tenth overall in the 1998 MLS College Draft by the Dallas Burn. Stuck behind Mark Dodd, Jordan only started one game as a rookie. However, he took the job from Dodd in the 1999 season, impressing everybody with his athletic ability. Jordan started for the next four years for the Burn, starting a total of 114 games with the team and registered a 1.51 goals against average, leading the Burn to the playoffs in each of four years with the team. However, the Burn acquired promising young goalkeeper D.J. Countess midseason 2002 and Jordan, seeing the writing on the wall, opted to try his fortunes overseas, signing with Odense BK of Denmark after the 2002 season.

However, Jordan saw little time with Odense, and returned to MLS in the middle of the 2004 season, signing with the Columbus Crew. He only played one game for the Crew, however, spending most of the year behind Jon Busch. In 2005, an injury kept Jordan out for most of the season, and after newly-acquired Jonny Walker played well, Jordan was shipped to his hometown Rapids for a pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He was waived during the 2007 pre-season, and the Rapids brought Zach Thornton on board.

The Impact signed Jordan in 2007 to replace long-time starter Greg Sutton, who had moved on to MLS expansion side Toronto FC. In Montreal, Jordan established himself on a successful Impact team that won the inaugural Canadian Championship in 2008, posting two clean sheets and receiving the George Gross Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP.^[1]

On December 18, 2008, Montreal announced the re-signing of Jordan to two year contract.^[2]

On February 1, 2011, Jordan announced his retirement as player. He will stay with Montreal as director of soccer operations.^[3]

Honors[link]

Club[link]

Montreal Impact

• USL First Division Championship (1): 2009
• Canadian Championship Voyageurs Cup (1): 2008

Individual[link]

• George Gross Memorial Trophy: 2008

References[link]

External links[link]

• Montreal Impact bio