Yawp! (Percussion Quintet) Josh Gottry

In the Walt Whitman poem Song of Myself, he writes the line I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world." This exciting percussion quintet pairs fun drum grooves with rhythmic, barbaric shouts of the word "Yawp!"

Genre: Percussion Ensemble
Number of Players: 5
Series: N/A
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 5:00

Instrumentation
Player 1: Snare Drum
Player 2: Brake Drum, Temple Blocks
Player 3: Congas (2), Bongos, Claves
Player 4: Djembe, Tamborim
Player 5: Drum Set

Program Notes
In the Walt Whitman poem Song of Myself, he writes the line I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. Made familiar to me in the movie Dead Poets Society, it always struck me as a line that should be accompanied with loud drums. As such, the opening unison passage in this drummy work for five players is a rhythmic realization of that line, the only non-struck note being the Yawp! barbarically shouted (I hope) by the performers. This reprise continues to appear throughout the piece, within the canvas of several layered grooves and instrumental dialogs. A metric modulation leads to a faster tempo and increased intensity before tapering slightly in advance of a ?nal repeated reprise of the rhythmic realization in an aggressively unison ensemble statement.

J.G.