Gortant’s Bag: Rhyming Games for Six or more Players

Crow, Robert

About the work

Both spoken text and music are derived from traditional rhymes. Few changes were needed to turn these familiar verses – with their echoes of the notorious Dr Hoffman’s “Struwwelpeter” – into the similarly familiar drama of sacrificial ridicule, the hounding of an Odd Man Out that seems to form such an important part not only of children’s lives but also the political reality of the ‘real world’. The piece was written in Vienna in 1990.

First Performance: Ensemble 9, Vienna, April 1990

Technical notes

For 4 parts, with percussion and piano. Part 1 – Vln, Fl, Ob, Cl; Part 2 – Vln, Cl, AltSax, Tpt; Part 3 – Vla, Hn, TenSax, Tbn; Part 4 – Vlc, Bsn; Percussion – Tri, Claves, Small Drum, Maracas, Cym, Cowbell, Guiro; Players are required at time to speak. It may be advisable to amplify voices, if this is possible. Player No 5 (percussion) may be treated as soloist. Since the part is technically easy it does not need to be taken by a percussion specialist, but could be performed by anyone with a firm rhythmic sense and dramatic flair.

Origin

Call for Pieces Entry: The State of the Nation 98

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