Elliott Carter

EIGHT PIECES
for Four Timpani
(one player)

ASSOCIATED MUSIC PUBLISHERS

A Subsidiary of
G. SCHIRMER, Inc.
up Oistributedby
R:;Hatleonart/ Publishing Corporation
1777 West Bluemound Road P.O. Box 13819 Mifwaukee, W/53213
 EIGHT PIECES
for Four Timpani
(one player)

1. Saeta ...................... 3
11. Moto Perpetuo . . . . . .. . ...... 6
Ill. Adagio .................... 8
IV. Recitative .... .. ... .. .......10
V. Improvisation ................13
VI. Canto .....................16
VII. Canaries . . .................18
VIII. March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 21
 Performance Notes
1. Public performance: The printing order of these eight pieces was chosen largely to facilitate_
page turns, hence this order is not meant to suggest the order of performance. The group of
eight is a collection of pieces from which not more than four are ever to be played as a suite in
public. The order of these should be chosen to produce the maximum of variety, possibly
according to the following sugg~tions:
(a) If pedal timpani are available, Ill and/or VI may be included.
(b) IV, V, VII and VIII can be used as beginning or ending pieces, while I, 11, Ill and VI
can be performed between them.
(c) When played in sequence, it is important that not more than one pitch be carried over
from one piece to the next - hence some may be transposed.
2. Timpani: Although all eight pieces can be performed on four standardized drums- 30", 28",
25" and 23"- other sized drums can be used to favor the effect of certain pieces. Although
pedal timpani are required for III and VI, their use is not essential for the other pieces. How-
ever, pedal timpani can be useful for quick tuning changes between pieces for public per-
formance.
3. Sticks: Sticks for I, Ill, IV, V and VII should be chosen to bring out the character of each
piece. In VIII, medium-hard sticks are suggested; in VI, wooden snare drum sticks. In II,
special rattan sticks with cloth (corduroy) -covered tips produce the best effect (see Example 1).
IV uses a soft bass drum stick for its final note. I and VIII call for the reversing of the timpani
sticks to strike with the wooden handles or butts. The striking with the wood is indicated
IBUTT I , and the usual way of striking is indicated IHEAD I
4-. Stick strokes: Unless otherwise specified, the usual type of stroke is to be used. This "normal
stroke" is indicated by the sign INS I when used to cancel the "dead stroke" IDS I - as
in 11, IV, and at the end of I. A "dead stroke" is on~ in which the head of the stick is held
down on the drum after striking to damp all resonance at once.
The appearance of the small sign ::.p , found in all of the pieces except VI, indicates hand
damping.
In VI, the sign :.,: means on the rim (not on the drum head), and the sign ® means rim
shot. I I
5. Striking positions on the drum head: To produce a wide variety of different sound qualities,
various striking positions are suggested. They are notated as follows:
® Normal striking position on head
© Striking at center of head
® Striking on head very near the rim
(see Example 2)
®-------~ Change gradually. from normal position to center of head
Each of these positions should produce a distinctly different sound. Where nothing is sug-
gested, the choice of striking positions is left to the discretion of the player.
6. Special effects:
11: In the use of the cloth-covered rattan sticks, two types of striking are indicated (see
Example 1):
[!f) Striking with the tip
lHdl Striking with the head
 11: Articulation- The various degrees of accentuation irt 11 should be clearly audible:
(a) slight accents at the beginning of each measure;
(h) lighter accents at the heginnin!Z: of each beamed group within the measure;
(c) still lighter accents at the beginning of inner beams of sixteenth notes.
The sign / indicates an accent as at the beginning of a measure.
The sign u weakens the above indications.
Ill: Harmonics sounding an octave above the tuned pitch of the drum may be produced by
pressing one or two fingers on the head of the drum half-way between the rim and center,
and striking near the rim. The harmonic is notated (>
Ill: Sympathetic resonance (called for on page 8, line 3, and page 9, line 1) -The pitch
played on the drum notated on the large staff is meant to produce a sympathetic resonance
in the drum notated ·on the small staff below. If this does not occur effectively, with a
vihration loud enough to make the small-note glissandi audible, then the drums indicated
in small notes should he struck softly at the same time or immediately after the other drums.
VI : The 'sneak entrances' should be soft enough to be covered up by the ring of the previous
loud notes.

David Hernandez Deniz

Percussionist
~ ~~~~~ K davidhernandezdeniz@gmail.com
www. youtu be.com/david hernandezden iz
Example 1 Cloth-covered Rattan Stick

[!P}-----( tip~C]===========::=::l
single layer t.
of cloth [!N} (head)
over tip
two or three layers
of cloth on sides

Example 2 Striking Positions on Drum Head

As close as possible to rim, still sounding pitch

Normal striking position

Center of drum head

 3

EIGHT PIECES
for Four Timpani
(one player)

to Al Howard

I. Saeta Elliott Carter

()=150)
® ~·=SO (in tempo)
ad lib. (accel.) tr .. m ...

9'-.. • .. 2' ~ r r [ fHf([[[[ff[((ffiiHi§!"=-P~~

evenly and resonantly

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12 J. *. 11

J. =50 . in tempo
@ ad lib. (accel.) ~ 13 mo~ nt. @,-
2' mJ J. J JJJ.JJ.JJJjjjjJJJWIH_~fHHfEHt_tif QJ)'
V molto \,Q) • • • • ·

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. ..
12 . . . . . . . . . . .
peco
.

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f marc.

© Copyright 1968 by Associated Musi<: Publishers, Inc., New York

AMP-6820 All Rights Reserved Printed in U. S. A.
 4

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• See Performance Note #i

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(PF2-=--
f'
regarding damping notation.
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111
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AMP·6820
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AMP-6820 1950/ 1966

6 to Paul Price

II. Moto Perpetuo*

Elliott Carter
J=l20 ()1=~ throughout)
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f)= .e ftu. 9 11 2:### ~ ]JJJ]JIJJJj]JJj]JJJjjj)J9JjJJJJJ)JOJJJ I
(-=:) (-==) (-=:::) (-=)
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mp p W

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a poco

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"' See Pcrfor.m ance Note #6 regarding accents and sticks.

AMP-6820 © Copyright 1968 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc., New York

(Hd] r@-. r® I r@----. r@---. ~ r @ } - - - - -
!J:#g# JJJJJi fiJJJ:PJDJJ]JjJJJJJJ!j}jJJJJJ! JjjJJJDJJJ I
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~----------------~®
lns4 ~ ~ lQE[!i§]

• With the stick of one hand, strike and hold against drum head; the other stick plays the repeated notes.
AMP-6820 1~50/1966
 8
to fan Williams

IlL Adagio
Elliott Carter

J=:ca. 36, very freely ~

rn·
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mfK [2)

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rn
l :>= r
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3
S)mpathetic resonance (see Performance Note #6)

• If this piece is performed after another of the series, it is only necessary to tune Drum 3. Drums I, 2 and 4 may start on any note and
slide into the first notes not in parentheses.

**The drums played before the harmonic and glissando note should be loud enough to form a ringing background without covering
that note. (See Performance Note ~6 regarding the production of harmonics.\

AMP-6820 @ Copyright 1968 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc., New York

 9

David Hernandez Deniz

Percussionist
davidhernandezdeniz@gmail.com
www.youtube.com/davidhernandezdeniz
sympathetic resonance (see Performance Note)

~~~'~'~-~-~··~·~
... ·~'~'~··'~-~~...~--'-'~·~"~·'~'~'~·~
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--

press forward
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f
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f 1966

AMP-6820
10 to Morris Lang

IV Recitative
,'"n _ Elliott Carter
Adagio drammatico (J =19-Y ~··
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ff mf mp -
• All rests in IV and V -i~dicate hand damping.

AMP-6820 ©Copyright 1960,1968 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc., New York

 (N)········· ············· ·· ···· ·················· ······ ···· · ······ ··························~· ········· ······ ·························· ··· ··---···· - -----·@ll

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12
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J.WP-6820 1950/1966
 to Paul Price 13

(N)
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2\ F
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JJ JJ J JJ 1J JJ ]J JJ J
AMP-6820 @ Copyright 1960, 1968 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc., New York
 ~~----~----~ ~ 7 I

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ffmarc.
a 1 ~;s JJ JZ;r- IJ
ff
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(R)- ()= )) -J__j.=J =48-

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:::- ::> ::> ::> ::> ::>

2\ 1 cresc. poco a poco

1 11
5 5

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::>
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I

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6 7

AMP-6820
 ::::=---=:: f ff :> p (>)

(R)- r®~-----,1 © ........................................ @-----J Damp with hand

=J·=l26- (J = J=l89) held on drum head

~1= H---;-GJ ~
F~ ~ li Fr Fr r r Ff 1- J
p

J I-
~

* U<J~:-·)I~J: J J
P
~~----------------

f./'sub.
j J:
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hf E~ r F -=-=
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(PP)

11
3 3 3 ~3====
• Let each tone fade out without striking again.
AMP-6820 1950/ 1966
16
to ]an Williams

VI. Canto
Elliott Carter

Isnare drum sticks I

~): 11 . . .

-M ..
mm m[!I

[4] ~ it!. . .. .. 3 • • •• • • • •• ; •3 ' ; • ' •• • -~

:>= •fl d-.t ffl_J LJ;pEJ
::> :f::>-= pp-< P
••LJtilu~d ~uw/~
--==::::: mf .::::=- P
('sneak entrance' -see Performance Note #6)

[!1~---------------~&~--"-"-,------------------------,~
::> bounce stick ~~ ~3 1

m
I. ~j J [;_I
'PP --==p -=:::
('sneak entrance')
mf .::::=-p ==--PP --===· =p --===== mf

AMP-6820 © Copyright 1968 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc ., 1'\ew York

 17

rn rn--rn~
' ~ ... b._

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P -=== nif ==- P n:f :::=- --======= mf ~==== f >-

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[2] ~

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f 3
~ -=:::: :=- -==
3
.:::=- -=:::::

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nif .1 -=:::: ====-- f ff

AMP-6820
18 to Raymond DesRoches

VII. Canaries
Elliott Carter

(R) ,-@----------------
9:# £D. f031t-
(>-).
J. 1-+ J. 15· ~J J. jJ I
-/'_
JSub.
... (>-)
p stacc.
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9'# J33 H 1 I~,' ijJ l· J I!I; J.l; J. 10
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. . .
•
I • • ::> ,
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(C) · ·································· · ········ · ··· · ······ · ··········· · ····-······· · ····· · ·····•@,:..............~-------

fl'J;H
mp sub
JJ. J. JJ.J-11 tJ J J J J >-J J J 12 1;-n
.
>-
~
::> ::>
I
~ L.....:::!,:.J ~
;on ;m: [" rfE··I f
§E j
. marc.

A M P-6820 © Copyright 1968 by Associated Music I\iblishers, Inc., New York

AMP-6820
 (C) . !"""........... ~ * ::h::t: I r® ~ r®~~ > I

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~

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AMP-6820 1950/ 1966
 to Saul Goodman 21

VIII. March

(HEAD) - - - r········ f_ _
~~~ ~ - : ~ ~ ~ - -
:>'rf,. ' ~- ,,~
. ~ fqc;
. &WJ' ~'
. ~ 'I I~'
. ;~·t ~.
-

[BUTT]
m .
-==== ::::==-
. . . .
(L.H.-mfsempre)
t{&¥ .qgru. I
. :=--

(HEAD]

!J J~

[HEAD] 1
!J:§ ,,.
(BUTT] f if . . . :> .
-=::::> -==== =====-
Both hands
change to BUTTS
[HEAD] tr.

:>
=

;{BUTTS]
: :>

of
.:>- >- : :> :> -~ -
f -~===== :> >- :>
men 'f:::::=--=====- ===
.:.........:=====

AMP-6820 @ Copyright 1968 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc., New York

22

Both hands
1 chan e. to HEADS i
(411··=64) :J J '
:·{BUTTS] ' E -1 .. = = 64~ 7
~ 2= ta .; JJJJ33 j JJJJ3J J JJJ3JJJ a! § t1 JJJJlj s - 1
1 11

.. if if ifmf if ·-- piu:} p _if f

IL.H.-Chang~

(HEAD]

7)= 3t
sf
3 sf lf
11 · sf · sf sf

(J=l20)
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--- (:>-)
men of

rlHEADSl 7

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> > >
men if ff
AMP-6820
 23

IBUTTSJ
{HEADS~----- 7 _J_J··=60-
!1= § FJ IgJ J JjjjJJSI i; j IgJ J JJ]jJJJI111i Jj JjJ JO IIH
::::> ::::>
men of--=~=====

(HEAD]~- f!j
- -
:J= ; i~J-~fl; #1~~, p; Lt@J1rQ; {zJf?l
- - - - - - -

(BUTT1J • j
•
~ ' • . • ' • · .
(::::>) • • • •
(.:::>)

(HEAD]

[B~i' ~ ' ~

(HEAD]-

. .
. '
rBoth hands, BUTTS"j
b'\Jl drums muted. J

11

AMP-6820 1950/ 1966