Double Concerto (Harrison)

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Lou Harrison's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Javanese Gamelan was composed in 1981-1982 upon the request of Kenneth Goldsmith of the Mirecourt Trio after the completion of Scenes from Cavafy.

It is scored for two European^[1] string instruments and a Javanese percussion ensemble, gamelan, consisting of metallaphones, gongs, and drums. Harrison mostly has the string duo play heterophonic unison passages. The gamelan uses both the slendro and pelog tunings, although the middle movement involves mostly the drums and string players.

The piece consists of three movements:

1. Grandly, but moderate
2. Stampede
3. Allegro moderato

"Stampede" is the English translation of one of Harrison's favored forms, estampie, and the movement, in estampie form, in contrast the outer movements uses an eight-note mode for variety and is also in an untraditional triple meter.

It was recorded by the Mirecourt Trio in the Mills College Art Gallery. Goldsmith described it as, "Like playing Tchaikovsky inside Big Ben."

• (1990) Music and Arts: CD-635.

The score, as with all of Harrison's compositions for gamelan, is published by the American Gamelan Institute.

[edit] See also

Double Concerto for Violin and Cello

1. ^ Harrison himself, however, chose to refer to Europe as "Northwest Asia."