by Brian Blume
13 players
Instrumentation: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Chimes, Vibraphone, 2 marimbas—low A, 4 timpani, Drums (snare drum, 4 concert toms, concert bass drum), Cymbals (china cymbal, suspended cymbal, sizzle cymbal), Accessories (2 triangles, shaker, tam tam, wind chimes, temple blocks)
Detour, by veteran Tapspace artist Brian Blume, is a concise yet engaging journey through life’s little detours. Written largely in 5/4 at a moderately slow tempo, the piece makes for a nice challenge for a beginning-to-intermediate percussion ensemble as they detour their way in and around a four-chord motif. There is a section in the middle that features two short rhythmic solos on concert toms and snare drum.
Blume masterfully crafts this work to be a balance between the excitement of stops and starts and the stability of solid, driving tempo control, and the 3-minute performance time is at just the right length to make the piece usable in a wide range of concert performance slots.
Why take the same old path? A Detour may prove far more interesting…
This piece comes with a full, bound score and includes a CD-ROM containing an audio recording and all individual parts available for printing.
