Karak concerto by Robert Davidson (2004)
I was first inspired by Kerryn Joyce when I heard her student performance of Ross Edwards’ Marimba Dances. Since then I have performed many times with both Kerryn and Kevin, the electrifying percussionists of Karak (from whom this piece takes its title).
The work’s opening movement contrasts the earthy power of drums with the lithe suppleness of mallet percussion; the orchestra likewise changes emphasis between high- and low- pitched instruments, with a
special role for the tuba.
There is a particular focus on the bowed vibraphone, producing a magical sound that conjures for me both the 18th- century drawing-room glass harmonica and mid-20th-century electronic arcana. When two
people manipulate four bows around this rather small instrument, a peculiarly fascinating dance also results.
The bowed vibraphone continues into the second movement, where sustained melodic lines take precedence. They are soon deposed by the reappearance of drums, taking us through the unsettlingly driving cross-rhythms favoured by South Indian musicians, accompanied by brass lines that would be quite at home in a 70s cop show.
I hope the piece conveys my enthusiasm for the expressive and ecstatic power of percussion music. Karak concerto is dedicated to Karak’s Kevin and Kerryn with admiration and affection.
� Robert Davidson 2004
