ZEUG
for percussion quartet
Publisher: C. Alan Publications (2019)
Composed: 2019
Duration: 3’40”
Difficulty: Medium
Instrumentation (4 players): brake drum, impact drum, ride cymbal, china cymbal, concert bass drum, tam-tam, snare drum, concert toms (4)
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The title of this percussion quartet, Zeug, is a German word loosely translated into English as “stuff.” The collection of instruments required – brake drum, impact drum, ride and china cymbal, concert bass drum, tam-tam, snare drum, and four concert toms – suitably fit into the category of typical percussion, without being able to be further categorized into a single percussion family such as drums, cymbals, accessories, etc. The writing, similarly, is generally loud and impactful, somewhat groove based, but not overtly, based on a few recurring motives or themes, but again not such that it fully codifies the work…in short, just some stuff written to be played on percussion stuff.

…an energetic work for percussion quartet that is sure to appeal to performers and audience members…I can’t help but hear a contemporary marching percussion influence in the ‘melodic’ way rhythms are voiced and traded between the instruments…also invokes a nostalgia for the early percussion ensemble works of the 1930s and ’40s. – James Baker
Printed by permission of the Percussive Arts Society, inc.