Development of the Percussion Ensemble Through the Contributions of the Latin American Composers Amadeo Roldán, José Ardévol, Carlos Chávez, and Alberto Ginastera
John R. Hall · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · 2008
soon followed, and a new class of compositions was born.The term percussion ensemble is now used in reference to these compositions written exclusively for percussion instruments and to the groups of musicians that perform these works.Roldán, together with a number of other Latin American composers, pioneered the development of this new genre.These composers include fellow Cuban José Ardévol, Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, and Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera.Ardévol followed Roldán's Rítmicas with three percussion ensemble compositions, Estudio en forma de preludio y fuga (1933), Suite para instrumentos de percusión (1934) and a 11 (1942).Chávez composed two percussion ensembles, Toccata para instrumentos de percusión (1942), which is one of the most frequently performed and recorded of the genre, and Tambuco (1964).Ginastera composed his Cantata para América mágica for dramatic soprano and percussion orchestra in 1960.These compositions played an essential role in the percussion ensemble's early development by creating the genre and by influencing the composers of the percussion ensemble works that followed.The influence of these compositions is evident in the instrumentation and compositional techniques employed by other composers of the genre, including Edgard Varèse, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, and John Cage.