Talea (6 Players)

Latin percussion performance and Medieval composition techniques are combined in Talea. The piece is named for a repeated figure characteristic of the Ars Nova isorhythmic motet. This figure was combined with an independently repeated pitch succession called a color. The result is a musical pattern in which pitch and rhythmic repetition coincide only periodically. Originally conceived as part of a larger multi-movement composition, Talea is based on several simultaneous isorhythmic patterns. The color of each line is based on indefinitely-pitched percussion sounds rather than actual pitches. The piece is in 5/4 meter throughout. The triangle opens with a steady eighth-note pattern consisting of a regular succession of open and muffled strokes. The cowbell, conga, and woodblock enter in a pattern of quarter notes that forms a three-against-four-against-five cross-rhythm. The claves, bongos, temple blocks, and tom-toms play repeated patterns that repeat every three, seven, eleven, and thirteen beats, respectively. Although Talea is scored as a sextet, additional players may be added to any and all parts and it may be used for study, performance, or both.