Le Livres des Claviers, by Philippe Manoury

Performed by Sharif Mamoun & Jeff Stern

ABOUT THE PIECE:
The book includes six pieces of keyboards, relatively short, for the various sets of percussion keyboards. Techniques related to keyboards were quite widely developed during the twentieth century. If we compare the use of the xylophone in Debussy to that in Messiaen and Boulez, there is a breakthrough in front, bringing it (marimba and xylomarimba included) to a true solo role. However, in recent years, techniques for continuous playing with four sticks has grown further opportunities. It is not to develop a technique, but to make musical patterns that were impossible even a few years ago: polyphony, and the succession of agreements of different kinds in a certain speed. This greatly motivated my choice for keyboards. On the other hand, the construction of new acoustic instruments like sixxens allowed me to address cases of new figures in the sense that the notion of height is no longer dominant, or rather, becomes more complex.

Part II: Duo de marimbas (one player per instrument)
Twenty-six sequences composed this piece, ranging from amorphous structures (simple glissandi), through intermediate states (broken lines but directional) to sequences completely polarized around the center. I focused on the music, made of dots connected by lines, a game "cast" can simulate legato phrasing by the high speed with which certain features are to be played.

  -- Philippe Manoury

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:
Born in Tulle in 1952, Philippe Manoury studied the piano (with Pierre Sancan) then, at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, composition (with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch) as well as harmony and counterpoint. Finally, at the Paris Conservatory he completed his training with Claude Ballif (musical analysis), and Ivo Malec then Michel Philippot (composition). From the age of 19 he was active in the main centres of contemporary music performance (Royan, La Rochelle, Donaueschingen, London, etc.), the premiere in 1974 of Cryptophonos by Claude Helffer drew him to the attention of audiences. He was resident in Brazil from 1978 to 1981 where he held classes and gave lectures in various universities (Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador).

In his recent work Philippe Manoury has shown that the voice is a form of expression he has especially liked to cultivate: as a solo surrounded by instruments (Cruel Spirals, in 2007), within a vocal ensemble (On-Iron in 2006 and Trakl Gedichte in 2007 were the result of a collaboration with Accentus) and in operatic form (60e Parallèle, in 1998 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris; KÖ, based on Kafka's The Trial, in 2001 at the Paris Opera; La Frontière, in 2003 at the National Theatre in Orléans).


ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:
Sharif Mamoun is a diverse percussionist who has an equal passion for performance and education. Mr. Mamoun attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and Master's Degree in Music Performance, while under the tutelage of Eduardo Leandro, Ayano Kataoka, and Thom Hannum. He was fortunate enough to receive the Chancellor's Fine Arts Scholarship Award as well as become a nominee for the Howard Lebow Memorial Scholarship in his tenure at the university.

As a music educator, Sharif has taught and arranged for numerous band programs throughout the Northeast, and has also taught some of the finest drum and bugle corps in the world. In 2010, Sharif was on staff with the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, and is currently on staff with the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps.

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Percussionist Jeff Stern performs across the US as a soloist and with ensembles large and small. He has appeared with some of today's most celebrated artists, including eighth blackbird and So Percussion, and collaborated with composers such as John Luther Adams, Lukas Ligeti, and Stuart Saunders Smith.

As an educator, Jeff currently teaches inner-city students at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's youth program, OrchKids, where he established the organization's first percussion department. From 2010-2012, he worked with the Spirit of America Band program on Cape Cod instructing various ensembles, running sectional rehearsals, and teaching private lessons. In Fall 2013, he will join the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory's Preparatory as the Director of their percussion program.