released June 1, 1988

Gerry Hemingway
Tubworks
Solo-Percussion

Four Studies for Single Instruments

1 Snare Drum 5:15
2 Hi-Hat 2:51
3 Bass Drum 3:45
4 Cymbal 6:03

5 Trance Tracks 6:01
6 Tub Etudes 5:43
7 Like So Many Sails 10:51
8 Dance of the Sphygmoids 8:38

All of the works except “Dance of the Shygmoids” recorded various dates in July & August 1985 and August 1987 at Roumanis Recordings, Hamden, Connecticut – digitally with Bruel and Kjaer microphones by Dean Roumanis.
“Dance of the Sphygmoids” was recorded in performance at Roulette, NYC, on December 9, 1983 by Jim Staley.
Original LP mastering by Henry Reidel, Studio Bauer, April 1988.
Remastering for Digital release (from LP source) by Gerry Hemingway, June 2004.
Front Cover Photo Collage “Flightwater” by Gerry Hemingway.
Back Cover Photo by Marianne Brouwer.
Liner Photo by Nancy Bleiweiss Hemingway.
Liner Notes by Gerry Hemingway.
Original Cover design by Margit Lämmle.

Produced by Gerry Hemingway. Original LP production in cooperation with Pedro de Freitas. Sound Aspects recordings ©1988 [SAS 022]. This digital release under new copyright from Auricle record Productions © 2004

All compositions by Gerry Hemingway/Nagual Music (B.M.I./G.E.M.A)

Liner Notes:

Tubworks
Gerry Hemingway

Notes on Solo Works

“Four Studies for Single Instruments” focuses the elements of polyphony and shifting texture on four individual instruments: Snare Drum, Hi-Hat, Bass Drum, and Cymbal.

In “Snare Drum”, the instrument is set vertically allowing each side of the drum to be to be played separately. An independent line of sound ranging from rubs to trills to staccato attacks is maintained by each hand simultaneously. The contour of the work is defined by the transition between each texture and how the flow of sound is shaped dynamically.

In “Hi-Hat” a metal resonant object is placed between the two cymbals altering the rhythmic and textural design of the instrument. The piece develops a constant trill texture with gradual dynamic, timbral, and tempo fluctuations.

Like “Hi-Hat”, “Bass Drum”, also features a constantly shifting trill texture , this time emphasizing some of the more unusual resonant characteristics of the instrument.

The final section “Cymbal” is the most lyrical of the studies. It opens with a call and response motif generated from bowing and rubbing the edge and surface (respectively) of the instrument. A dense and violent texture emerges from the somber opening and is eventually subdued by a return to the bowed cymbal, this time colored by altered harmonics.

“Trance Tracks” is a drumistic work focusing on a variety of four-limbed phasing dance rhythms. For most of the piece certain patterns remain constant. The bass drum delineates a four beat pattern, the left hand is in 3 while the hi-hat keeps 2:3 pattern. The bass drum does vary (to 3,2:3, and 8) but the primary variation is in the right hand which shifts from 10 to 7 to 5 to 3 1/2 to 2 1/2.

“Tub Etudes” was originally a series of short improvised vignettes for solo trap set (or tubs in the vernacular of the 40's). It has evolved into a seamless structure characterized by a series of quick timbral transitions executed with a wide range of strikers. The shifting terrain is further enhanced with crescendo/decrescendo dynamics and accelerando/cleaccelerando rhythms and melodic phrases.

“Like So Many Sails” incorporates mixed wood and metal percussion with the trap set. Technically, the piece focuses on attack and decay and the variety of ways these fundamental qualities can be altered and transformed. Structurally, staccato point clusters are first interweaved and then eventually swallowed by a polyphonic tableau of overlapping textures. “Like So Many Sails” evokes an illusionary landscape colored by the subtle positioning of various punctuation over a seemingly smooth surface.

“Dance of the Sphygmoids” features the interface of metal and skin sounds, the most notable of which are glockenspiel bars resting partially on the surface of the drums, creating a vowel-like texture. The piece is both playful and episodic receiving its inspiration from the phenomenon of entrainment (synchrony in life forms).