Christopher Rouse: Concerto Per Corde/Passion Wheels

In the finest sense of the word, Christopher Rouse is a leading Post-Modernist composer. His music successfully melds elements of popular and serious musical thought into works of great expressive power and originality. As this recording illustrates, Rouse's musical ideas meld divergent cultures and stylistic periods into original and powerful new creations.

A wildly inventive orchestrator, Christopher Rouse has been notably creative in his writing for percussion. Many of the most poignant statements in his orchestral and ensemble pieces are expressed through percussion. He has written a number of popular, highly-acclaimed works for percussion ensemble, including Bonham (in homage to the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame), and the present Ku-Ka-Ilimoku and Ogoun Badagris.

Largely based on his String Quartet No.2 (1988), Christopher Rouse's Concerto per Corde (1990) is much more than a transcription of the earlier work. A significant amount of re-writing went into the Concerto, especially in the second and third movements. The Concerto retains much of the Quartet's Russian flavor, particularly its bow to composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

Rotae Passionis; a commission from the Boston Musica Viva, was completed and first performed in 1983. It is scored for seven players: flute (doubling piccolo and alto flute), clarinet (doubling E-flat and bass clarinets), percussion, piano, violin, viola and cello. The work is a veritable compendium of extended playing techniques, requiring the utmost in virtuosity from the performers. Additionally, the wind players and pianist play various percussion instruments. For purposes of this recording a second percussionist was employed to fulfill these added roles.