The Aluphone is a tuned
percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
consisting of aluminum bells that are struck with a
mallet
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...
to produce musical tones. In its standard configuration, the bells of the Aluphone are mounted on a frame, but it can also be played as a single handheld bell or as a stack of bells.
The bells of the Aluphone are very durable, so they can be struck with a large variety of mallets, wands, or hammers depending on the tone that the musician seeks to produce.
The Aluphone is closely associated with
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish people, Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015.
Early life
Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Sco ...
, who played the instrument in the
opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
History
According to Harry Ellis, the idea for the Aluphone was developed at a
trade show
A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and cu ...
that two men, Michael Hansen and
Kai Stensgaard, were separately attending.
At the trade show, Hansen was showcasing aluminum cones that were designed to protect the tops of wooden posts. As a musician, Stensgaard was curious about the sound the cones would make when he struck. He was impressed with the tone created by the metal cones when struck and asked if Hansen could produce cones that would produce an assortment of unique
pitches that could be incorporated into a playable instrument.
Hansen agreed to work with Stensgaard on the project. In 2011, Stensgaard presented the Aluphone for the first time at
PASIC,
a convention held by the
Percussive Arts Society Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is a non-profit organization for professional percussionists and percussion educators. It was founded in 1961 in the United States and has over 5,000 members in 40 American chapters, with another 28 chapters abroad. It ...
.
In an interview, Glennie stated that she was not involved in the creation of the original Aluphone.
After becoming interested in the instrument, she worked with Hansen and Stensgaard to develop a new version of the Aluphone, sometimes called the ''Glennie Aluphone'',
for her to play at an upcoming performance of ''
Caliban's Dream'' at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Stensgaard presented the Aluphone at PASIC again in 2013. Stensgaard stated: "A lot of people know the instrument now and really like the sound. Composers are writing for it."
Adam Schoenberg
Adam Schoenberg (born November 15, 1980) is an American composer. A member of the Atlanta School of Composers, his works have been performed by numerous orchestras and ensembles in the U.S. Schoenberg was the 2010-2012 guest composer for the As ...
made use of the Aluphone in a 2013 orchestral composition called ''Bounce''. He believes that it was the first time that original music was composed for the Aluphone in an orchestral arrangement.
Anders Koppel Anders Koppel (born 17 July 1947 in Copenhagen) is a co-founder in 1967 of the rock group Savage Rose. From 1976 to 2012 he was a member of the trio Bazaar. He plays in the trio Koppel-Andersen-Koppel which includes his son, saxophone player Benjami ...
Concerto for Aluphone and Symphony Orchestra. Soloist plays aluphone and marimba. World Premier January 16 and 17, 2014 with Evelyn Glennie as the soloist. Written for Aluphone Glennie Concert 2 1/2 oct. Listen here. You can get the music from Edition Wilhelm Hansen: score – solo part
James MacMillan
Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor.
Early life
MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...
“Percussion Concerto No.2” Premiere by Colin Currie, November 7, 2014, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra with James Gaffigan at the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg (Utrecht)
Oriol Cruixent “Oraculum” Op.72 (Latin, m., literally: oracle) is a Concerto for Multi-Percussion and Orchestra in seven parts. Oriol Cruixent has composed and dedicated “Oraculum” to the percussionist Vivi Vassileva, with whom he has a long-standing musical friendship. World premiere May 19, 2019
Mark Bowden
Mark Robert Bowden (; born July 17, 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a national correspondent for ''The Atlantic''. He is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War'' (1999) about th ...
Heartland, percussion concerto with Symphony Orchestra. Percussion part includes Aluphone Glennie Concert. Premier by BBC Wales May 15, 2013. Soloist Julian Warburton Conductor: Grant Llewellyn. Recorded in January 2013 by BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Max de Wardener
Max de Wardener is a British composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist known for his scores for film and television and his work in jazz, classical, world and electronic music.
Career
Since graduating from York University and the Guildhall Scho ...
Percussion Concerto with Symphony Orchestra: Percussion part includes Aluphone Glennie Concert. World premier June 19, 2013 in L´Auditorium de Bordeaux with Collin Currie as soloist.
Glennie played the Aluphone again in a 2015 performance of
Dithyrambs
The dithyramb (; grc, διθύραμβος, ''dithyrambos'') was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god. Plato, in ''The Laws'', while discussing ...
at
Cadogan Hall
Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England.
The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the first ...
, receiving favorable reviews. She struck the bells of the Aluphone in a variety of ways to produce sounds ranging from those of a
glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone.
The glo ...
to that of a
gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
.
Kai Stensgaard Concerto for Aluphone & marimba with Symphony Orchestra 2020. 3 movements. Duration 20 minutes.
Salvador Rojo
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
Four Forces for percussion soloist & Orchestra 26:00. Premiered by Victor Segura Raga and Orquesta de extremadura. 1, movement for Aluphone & vibraphone.
Askell Másson Capriccio for Darabuka & Orchestra. October 22, 2017 World Premiere. Iceland – Akureyri Hof Concert House. Sinfonia North, Askell Masson (Darabuka), Petri Sakari (cond.)
Francisco Coll
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
Mural was premiered by www.philharmonie.lu September 2016. The percussion section included an aluphone.
References
{{reflist, 30em, refs=
[{{cite web, url=http://www.classicfm.com/artists/dame-evelyn-glennie/news/evelyn-glennie-talks-classic-fm/ , title=Dame Evelyn Glennie at ClassicFM.com , website=ClassicFM.com , access-date=2018-05-09]
[{{cite web, url=http://www.halftimemag.com/gear-up/the-aluphone.html , title=The Aluphone , magazine=]Halftime Magazine
''Halftime Magazine'', which premiered in July 2007, is a glossy print magazine that highlights the “sights, sounds and spirit of the marching arts”.
Halftime Magazine is a publication of Muse Media, LLC, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The first i ...
, last=Berley , first=Samantha , date=2012-11-21 , access-date=2018-05-09
[{{cite web, url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-cm-adam-schoenberg-bounce-20130908-story.html , title=Adam Schoenberg's life gives his music some 'Bounce' , newspaper=]Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
, last=Ng , first=David , date=2013-09-08 , access-date=2018-05-09
[{{cite web, url=http://www.louisvilledrummer.com/pasic-2011-exhibitor-videos-pt-1/ , title=PASIC 2011 – Exhibitor Videos, pt.1 , year=2011 , website=LouisvilleDrummer.com , access-date=2018-05-09]
[{{cite web, url=https://blog.oup.com/2013/12/marimba-kai-stensgaard/ , title=An interview with marimbist Kai Stensgaard , publisher=]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, last=Huntington , first=Scott , date=2013-12-10 , access-date=2018-05-09
[{{cite web , url=https://www.evelyn.co.uk/when-michael-met-kai/ , title=When Michael met Kai… , website=Teach the World to Listen , last=Glennie , first=Evelyn , date=2012-11-12 , access-date=2018-05-09]
[{{cite web, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/classical-music/proms-chamber-music-4-evelyn-glennie-review/ , title=Proms Chamber Music 4: Evelyn Glennie, review: 'expressive' , newspaper=]The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
, last=McAloon , first=Jonathan , date=2015-08-11 , access-date=2018-05-09
[{{cite web, url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/evelyn-glennie-from-the-nobel-prize-of-music-to-her-own-prom-spd2q3rllc6 , title=Evelyn Glennie: From the ‘Nobel prize’ of music to her own Prom , newspaper=]The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
, last=Whitworth , first=Damian , date=2015-08-06
External links
Aluphone – Tuned percussion for percussionists– Official website sponsored by the creators of the Aluphone
BBC Music– Excerpt of
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish people, Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015.
Early life
Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Sco ...
playing a ''Concerto for Aluphone'' with the
Odense Symphony Orchestra
The Odense Symphony Orchestra (Odense Symfoniorkester) is a Danish symphony orchestra based in Odense. The orchestra is resident in the Odense Concert Hall (inaugurated in 1982), specifically in the Carl Nielsen Hall (seating capacity of 1,212). ...
.
PASIC 2011 – Aluphone–
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video of Kai Stensgaard playing the Aluphone at PASIC 2011.
James MacMillan – Aluphone–
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video of Colin Currie playing the Aluphone.
Santa Clara Vanguard – Aluphone–
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video of Santa Clara Vanguard playing the Aluphone at PASIC.
*www.aluphone.com
Pitched percussion instruments
Metal percussion instruments
Orchestral percussion instruments
Keyboard percussion instruments