Michael Gordon's Timber, a commission from Dutch percussion ensemble
Slagwerk Den Haag, grew out of a collaboration between the composer and the performers. After
Gordon presented his initial concept to the ensemble he and the players decided on using six simantras, an instrument developed by
Xenakis that is basically a two-by-four plank, and that decision determined the character and development of the work. The simantras have a sharp, bright attack but are surprisingly resonant, and each generates a variety of overtones. Timber is performed with the instruments arranged in a hexagon, and one of the work's most striking elements is the way the music travels in canonic waves around the circle of players. The stereo recording manages to convey the circularity of the movement beautifully and the sound is crisp and immaculate. The music consists of rhythmic ostinatos that move from player to player and evolve into layers of polyrhythms of dazzling complexity, creating a shimmering, magical web of sound. In the nearly hour-long piece, the pulse changes only once, a tiny shift slower that starts toward the end of the third track; it's remarkable in a piece of this length with such long stretches of music of unvarying pulse that
Gordon is able to keep the listener constantly engaged. The key may lie in his skill in creating a continual ebb and flow of energy that feels inexorable but is not predictable.
The score does not specify simantras of any particular pitch but each does produce a definite fundamental pitch, and although the perception of the pitch is secondary to the impact of the percussive attack, its subtly shifting melodic contours (and even an understated melodic counterpoint) are as beguiling as its rhythmic intricacies. Apart from the surprising sensuality of the sound itself, Timber's appeal and strength are evident in the richness and depth it reveals on repeated hearings.
Slagwerk Den Haag plays the staggeringly difficult score with uncanny precision and attention to the infinitesimal gradations of dynamics that the piece requires to make its full impact; it's a remarkably assured performance. Highly recommended of any fans of new music or music for percussion.