DOWN DOWN BABY (2016)
FOR PREPARED CELLO AND PERCUSSION
or
For Percussion quartet
22 minutes
Program Notes
Down Down Baby is a childhood clapping game. Kids stand in a circle, clapping hands in choreographed patterns while singing a simple rhyming song. You know – “Shimmy, Shimmy cocoa pop / Shimmy, Shimmy pow”. When I began the piece my son was four months old. As a new Dad I often found myself trying to remember what being a kid was like. At the same time, perhaps with a bit less frequency, I was also thinking about how to approach cello and percussion in a completely new way. The two thoughts merged and I started to wonder if I were a kid with no prior knowledge of cellos and percussion what would I do? My immediate answer – I would hit and pluck in every possible way other than the normal way.
Thinking about childhood, led to games, which led to clapping games, which led to the amazing way two people facing each other performing the same motions become mirrors, which is a mesmerizing thing to watch; so I decided Hannah and Mike would be mirrors, and the cello would be their shared instrument. They would play, sing, whistle and clap (often all at the same time), and it would be hypnotic and joyful, maybe even capture some of the playful spirit and intricate physicality of the game Down Down Baby itself, or at least that was my hope!
With all this in mind, each movement became a short childhood scene. In Follow the Leader the players discover their new instrument, exploring a series of sounds and imitating each other as they go. Next is a brief Daydream, a moment of repose before a spirited Singing Lesson and a beguiling Strange Dance. After a second short Daydream the piece concludes with the title track, Down Down Baby, a kind of virtuosic romp through intricately coordinated hand gestures and interlocking rhythms.
Down Down Baby was commissioned by New Morse Code and developed with the support of the Avaloch Farm Music Institute and premiered October 4, 2016 by New Morse Code at Kansas University.
Duo Instrument List (or Quartet)
Cello (or Double Bass)
Desk Bells, complete chromatic set
2 Woodblocks (or 4 Woodblocks
2 5-gallon buckets attached to foot pedals
Quartet Equipment:
Double Bass
Desk Bells, complete chromatic set
4 Woodblocks
2 Plastic tubs (or other box) attached to foot pedals
Purchase
Recent Performances
November 19, 2021 First Congregational Church, Houston, TX. Loop38.
November 4, 2021 Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. New Morse Code.
October 22, 2021 Miruel Richardson Auditorium, Winnipeg, Canada. Leanne Zacharias.
January 14, 2020 The Loft Cinema, Tucson, AZ. New Morse Code.
November 2, 2019 Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY. Julia Lavernoich.
November 1, 2019 Provincial Dome Building, Brandon, Manitoba. Leanne Zacharias & Eric Platz.
April 18, 2019 W.O. Smith Community Music School, Nashville, TN. chatterbird.
July 14, 2018 Mary Keene Chapel, Enfield, NH. Chosen Vale International Percussion Seminar.
June 30, 2018 The Record Company, Boston, MA. New Morse Code.
April 6, 2018 University of Kansas, KS. KU percussion group.