snipescape
(2025)

Composer's notes:
The Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) makes a beautiful sound by flying extremely fast and acrobatically whilst simultaneously positioning its tail feathers in such a way that air passes over them. The effect is eery, and arises only occasionally out of the soundscape, as the snipe performs its mating flight. I have created a playful piece, which replaces the snipe's usual marshland soundscape with a kind of salsa-esque rhythmic soundscape. The music melts between the salsa patterns and the snipe's tail feather sounds, represented by the whirly tubes. What unites everything in this music is an interest in body movement and physical sounds.

Duration: 3.5'

Instrumentation:
Percussionist 1:
2 Timbales, Whirly tube (F sharp), Gong (F2).

Percussionist 2:
2 Wood blocks, 2 Timbales, Whirly tube (G quarter-flat), Gong (F sharp 2).

Percussionist 3:
Maraca, Metal semantron, Whirly tube (G), Tam-tam.

Percussionist 4:
2 Bongos, Metal semantron, Whirly tube (G quarter-sharp), Gong (G2).

Percussionist 5:
2 Tom-toms, Suspended cymbal, 1 Wood Block.

Percussionist 6:
Piccolo snare, Tam-tam, Gong (B flat 2), 2 Bongos.

First Performance: Klassendabend of the class of Prof. Cornelia Monske, Rudolf Steiner Haus, Hamburg (14th January 2026).