Black Waves, Bright Moon
for percussion ensemble
From composer Russell Wharton‚Äôs own words: “Black Waves, Bright Moon for percussion orchestra is a series of scenes with a cosmic-horror atmosphere. Inspired by the work of American author H. P. Lovecraft, and specifically his story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the piece uses strange textures, ominous harmonies, and violent rhythmic figures to evoke the frightening world of Lovecraft‚Äôs fiction. Black Waves, Bright Moon tells of midnight rituals near the water, of strange towns with questionable histories, of inhuman sounds coming from the house next door, of great powers lurking deep under the waves, and the too-close moon that illuminates the things in the night.”
Players will work together and individually to create the various moods, sound effects, and scene changes occurring throughout the piece in service of delivering a unique, albeit slightly hair-raising, experience to an audience. There is certainly no shortage of notes for the performers to contend with but also a lot of space during which the listener must anxiously await whatever may be coming next.
Black Waves, Bright Moon ships as a fully bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for either printing or tablet viewing.
- Glockenspiel
- Xylophone
- Chimes
- 2 Vibraphones
- 4 Marimbas — (2) low A, (1) low F, (1) 5-octave
- 4 Timpani
- Percussion—2 suspended cymbals, triangle, timpani, concert snare drum, 5 granite blocks (or temple blocks), 2 ocean drums, bamboo wind chimes, 2 China cymbals (high/low), high dry metal, tam-tam, key chimes, concert bass drum, 4 concert toms, sizzle cymbal
Reviews
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Matthew Geiger –
I am a big fan of programmatic music, especially when percussion is the main vehicle for telling the story. I love when composers can effectively incorporate the many diverse colors from our nearly infinite spectrum of sounds. Russell Wharton’s “Black Waves, Bright Moon” fits right into that category, using a wide array of timbres and textures to depict scenes inspired by the American author of macabre short stories H.P. Lovecraft. Wharton sets an evocative and haunting tone from the start, painting a dark and peculiar picture through various interpolations of diverse characters, all within the single movement, ten-minute work for percussion orchestra.
After three minutes of a slow opening, I expected it to take flight and pick up pace like so many other recent ensemble compositions, but Wharton cleverly subverts the norm. He shifts around various unsettling textures, speeds, and densities without ever truly landing into the predictable. Only in the final third does the piece pick up tempo, with mallet players leading fast runs surrounded by heavy percussion interjections, all while maintaining the unsettled harmonic language and mood that permeated the opening.
Numerous challenges are presented for the players, but most are musical rather than technical. For example, mallet parts would be difficult to align due to the amount of space between rhythms as well as the numerous harmonically complex unison rhythms, but the players rarely need to hold more than two mallets. Percussion parts are exciting and feature fast rhythms at times, with a variety of implement and instrument changes.
Putting this piece together will require a mature and talented high school or collegiate percussion ensemble. Wharton continues to contribute excellent musical ideas to our percussion repertoire, and “Black Waves, Bright Moon” is no exception. I would definitely check this one out!
—Matthew Geiger
Percussive Notes
Vol. 63, No. 3, June 2025