EXTENDED WOOD PERCUSSION SOLO

Simone Beneventi: percussion

 

“The idea of ??a solo wooden-percussion concert is the result of a practice for me as usual as is necessary, to establish, for each new project, a precise point of observation of the vast cosmos of percussion music and then draw a frame, to perceive a perspective and consequently, delimit a coherent and communicative sound environment.

For an interpreter like me – not author of his own music – this phase represents the moment of most creative freedom, where every aspect of mine and others work, can be rethought and put differently into light.

Of the three types of percussion instruments, metal, membrane and wood, this last is surely the least generous in terms of resonance, timbral versatility and sensitivity in response to touch. Notwithstanding this, certain wooden instruments have gained a strong identity and a consolidated position in numerous musical traditions. Their cultural heritage is thereby well established and their inclusion in this project creates a dialogue between past and present languages, between voices and feeling apparently distant.

Extended Wood Percussion Solo is a very mobile and heterogeneous container, fueled in the first place by the collaboration with artisans of wood(who became luthiers for the occasion) and composers interested in letting their musical imagination into the non habitual environment of the exclusively wooden instruments I have limited them to. So there is so much space for the full investigation of the sound properties of the materials, as well as for the creation of previously non-existent installations and instruments.  Last but not least, there is a depth research into compositions for marimba solo. From this well nourished body of work I have selected pieces that are connected by their compositional originality. Fruit of the exploration of the acoustic potential of the instrument, they have brought unconventional and unexpected results in sound, partly through the expansion of the marimba with supplementary instruments (mostly wooden), and partly through a circumscription of the area of action with a strict economy of means.” (S.B.)