Hydra

by Chad Heiny

8 players

Instrumentation: Drums (bongos, congas (2), 4 concert toms, piccolo snare drum, field drum or deep concert snare, mounted kick drum, concert bass drum), Cymbals & gongs (Medium China cymbal, low China cymbal), Accessories (Six graduated trash metals (ribbon crashers, trash stacks, etc…).

Chad Heiny’s Hydra is a wild and aggressive piece meant to represent the serpentine-like beast of the same name. The mythology surrounding the monster tells that when one of its heads was cut off, another two heads would regenerate. Thus, Chad makes rhythmic references to the number 2 throughout the work. Also, the horrifying “hiss” of the creature can be heard through the use of trashy metallic instruments as well as the “hissing” vocal instructions used throughout the piece. Hydra was commissioned by Chris Fauries and the Walsh Middle School Percussion Ensemble in celebration of their acceptance and performance at the 2018 Percussive Arts Society International Convention.

This piece comes with a full, bound score and includes a CD-ROM containing an audio recording and all individual parts available for printing.