Over the Bar

Item details

• Description +

  • Duration: 10 min.
    
    I was talking with my good friend Daniella Ganeva in Austin at the annual percussion convention (PASIC). She mentioned she was in an exciting new duo called Framed Resonance with Paolo Cimmino. Marimba and frame drums: that combination instantly starting my wheels turning. I had the good fortune to meet and study with Glen Velez at The Hartt School in 1997. I had more good fortune to be roommates with both Shane Shanahan and Mark Katsaounis shortly after Glen had left his mark in Hartford and finalized the text for the Handance Method. Many of us Hartt students took our tars, bodhrans, riqs, bendirs, and oceans drums into venues and dance studios all over the state of Connecticut...

• Instrumentation +

  • Marimba and Frame Drum

• About the composer +

  • Christopher Swist spends equal time as a percussionist, composer, engineer, writer, and educator. His music education started at age 6 with Buffalo Philharmonic percussionist John Rowland and continued through multiple degrees in performance and composition from SUNY-Buffalo (Jan Williams) and The Hartt School (Ben Toth and Al Lepak). He culminated his unique compositional voice, performance practice, and recording engineering into 2 solo albums: Whitewater of 2001 and Duality of 2013. His third solo album, Equal Simplicity, is being released in 2025.
    
    Christopher’s varied catalog of orchestral, concerti, percussion, chamber and electronic music is published with Alfred Music, Studio 4 Music, Keyboard Percussion Publications, Edition Svitzer, and Bachovich Music. Swist’s latest work is a Double Concerto for Vibraphone and Marimba that he also performs as the vibraphone soloist. His music has been performed by the Grand Rapids Symphony, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, The Louisville Orchestra, American Modern Ensemble, Grupo PIAP, YoungArts, and the United States Military Academy. He also presents recitals as a performer/composer who plays both acoustic and electronic music.
    
    Christopher is a symphonic musician as well, performing in the percussion sections of symphony orchestras in Hartford, New Haven, Springfield, Waterbury, Bridgeport, Ridgefield, and Norwalk. He has been the principal percussionist of the New Britain Symphony Orchestra since 1999 and directs the NBSO’s educational outreach programs and steel pan/percussion fusion ensembles.
    
    Professor Swist is an educator, pedagogue, and administrator. He is Director of Recording Arts at Trinity College in Hartford. He also designed and built EvenFall Studio LLCin New Hampshire, and, is a pro audio writer/reviewer for SonicScoop. Christopher was recently inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.

• Reviews +

  • Review (Percussive Notes, June 2020)
    
    Commissioned by the Framed Resonance duo, “Over the Bar” is a unique duet for marimba and frame drums. Inspiration for the work comes from multiple conversations with friends, the music of Egyptian composer Hamaz El Din, and studies the composer had with Glen Velez during their years at The Hartt School. 
    
    The composer states that while the piece can be performed on any choice of frame drums, performers may also choose to perform the work on other hand drums such as congas, djembe, or doumbek. Creativity is encouraged, with the composer stating, “A variety of frame drums and changes are encouraged throughout the piece.” Notation for the frame drum is clear and separated into low (dum), mid (pa), and high (tak) sounds that can be translated to the other instruments. The composer also makes other notations such as finger rolls and friction rolls clear. 
    
    The piece is in three sections. The first and third sections are more high-energy, and allow for the frame drummer to improvise in some moments. The second section is labeled “Mystic” and utilizes coloristic effects by the frame drummer while the marimba plays a chorale. Both performers need to be experienced players for this duet. While the coordination of the parts should not be difficult, the variety of meter changes as well as the individual technical demands will make this challenging. That being said, those efforts will be well rewarded with an exciting work for a unique instrumentation that would work well on a senior or graduate recital, or any professional showcase. 
    
    —Brian Nozny

• Credits +

  • Front Cover graphics and layout: Gaia Gomes
    Engraving: Christopher Swist
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    www.editionsvitzer.com

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