Black + White by Anthony Bartolo

Black + White captures the snare drum’s ability to be crisp and rhythmic, yet resonant and melodic. The main theme is based on a pattern of 7+7+9 groupings with some variations. Throughout, I used my hands or a dampening cloth to explore textures of muffled and unmuffled sounds. The middle section is very slow to allow for time in between strokes and longer glissandi to show off this instrument’s ability to sing. In the last section a cloth is laid over the head to add contrasting sounds. Written for a Black Swamp 3.5×13 mercury series ply maple drum with Mini Trio snare system.

*Commissioned by Black Swamp Percussion