An investigation of the relationship between wind and percussion scoring in selected twentieth-century wind ensemble literature: Interpretive options for the conductor.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between wind and percussion scoring in selected twentieth-century wind ensemble literature and to offer interpretive possibilities for conductors. The influence that percussion and wind performance have on each other was examined using selected musical examples. The critical question investigated was how can the ensemble conductor identify and interpret these influences to create a more cohesive, artful and musically enriching performance. The examination of performance options in selected excerpts provides the wind ensemble conductor with a resource for better understanding the interpretive implications of wind and percussion writing. An overview of the evolution of percussion in twentieth-century wind ensemble literature is offered to illustrate the evolving roles of these sonic elements. An increased rhythmic vocabulary was identified and discussed, and a three-dimensional approach to articulation and the use of mental imagery to aid interpretation was suggested.