SCHNÄPPCHENJAGD II (2009/2019)

for percussion solo and percussion quartet, 14 mins

Schnäppchenjagd II was written in 2009 and revised in 2019. It is essentially an ensemble version of Schnäppchenjagd, also written in 2009, for solo percussion. The premiere took place on the Performer's Voice Symposium 2009 in Singapore with Aiyun Huang as soloist along with students from the Yong Siew Toh conservatory performing the ensemble parts. Schnäppchenjagd is the German word for bargain hunting, but it is built off of the verb schnappen, which means, "to grab". The work is constructed in such a way that glimpses of musical events - processes or unfoldings of the material - are given but, in general, a full grasp of the event is not offered. Filtering or magnifying material creates something referential but not always clearly related. One is left to piece together these glimpses and references into a meaningful whole.

In essence, to create Schnäppchenjagd II, components of the solo part in the original Schnäppchenjagd are distributed to the 4 supporting ensemble percussionists. But this new formation also permits new possibilities. These arise at the end of the work, first in a section with a strong sense of pulse - a stark contrast from everything else preceding it - and finally with 9 events performed by the ensemble on the soloist's setup.