HELTER SKELTER
for percussion quartet
Written: 1984
Duration: ca. 4'- 10’
Instrumentation: four percussionists (total instruments needed: 3 roto toms, 3 single-headed tom toms, 2 suspended cymbals, 2 timpani, snare drum)
World Premiere: Nichols School concert, Buffalo, NY, Fall, 1984
European Premiere: Mostly Modern Ensemble, featuring Cora Dellabeke, percussion Ward de Ketelaere, percussion Arno Muller, percussion AJ Vervorst, percussion, Mostly Modern Festival | The Netherlands, In Partnership with Muziekschool Zeeland, Zeeuwse Concert Zaal, Middelburg, ZE (The Netherlands) April 30, 2022.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
PROGRAM NOTE
Helter Skelter was written in 1984 for myself and three other percussionists, and it is my first piece for multiple players. At the time, I couldn’t find an appropriate percussion quartet to perform at a school recital that was easy, fun to play, and used the instruments we had at the school, so I decided to compose my own piece. It is is basically an organized improvisation, and relies on spontaneous reactions from the players. The parts are written in such a way as to give the players the choice of which phrases to play or not play, and how long to play them. If performed correctly, the piece should never sound the same twice. Helter Skelter requires the performers to listen carefully to each other in order for the piece to be played well.
The title Helter Skelter is inspired by the definition of the phrase, which means disorder or confusion. The fact that there are many other pieces and books named “Helter Skelter” is, for the most part, coincidental. This composition has nothing to do with any of these works, such as the song by The Beatles, although there is a subtle allusion to the Charles Manson murders which took place in Death Valley, California in 1969.