Bloom

Year: 2024

Heading: for percussion quartet

Record Release: August 30, 2024

Movements:

Bloom 1, morning
Bloom 1, noon
Bloom 1, night
Stem 1
Bloom 2, morning
Bloom 2, noon
Bloom 2, night
Stem 2
Bloom 3, morning
Bloom 3, noon
Bloom 3, night

Instrumentation:

player 1: vibraphone, 2 bongos
player 2: vibraphone, 2 congas
player 3: marimba, 5 wooden slats
player 4: marimba, 4 tom-toms

Duration: 54”

Program Note: BLOOM was written for and recorded by Sandbox Percussion.

BLOOM uses interlocking rhythms which when played together create a sense of groove. These are expressed through each player’s drums (non-pitched instruments) and their vibes and marimbas (pitched instruments). The drums are like “dirt,” the earth from which shoots of plants push through, represented by the mallets. Both dirt and plants share the same material, dirt metamorphosizes into “blooms.” Unlike other recent pieces of mine that have an urban profile, this music has an organic basis for being.

The three sets of three movements (interspersed with two slower Stem movements) identify the time of day: morning, noon, and night—with the night-time blooms being the most expansive of each set.

 —Michael Torke