The Phantom Dances
by Michael Hennagin
Percussion Ensemble - Sheet Music

Percussion ensemble player 1 (orchestra bells, snare drum, castanets, sandblocks), player 2 (crotales, 7 roto-toms, 2 cowbells, tambourine, mark tree, small suspended cymbal), player 3 (chimes, snare drum, maracas), player 4 (xylophone, 2 woodblocks), player 5 (xylophone, pi (12 players) - Difficulty: Difficult

SKU: CN.00016

Composed by Michael Hennagin. Duration 10:30. C. Alan Publications #16. Published by C. Alan Publications (CN.00016).

Hast never come to thee an hour,
A suddent gleam...
(A Phantom,)
precipitating,
bursting all these bubbles,
fashions, wealth,
these eager business aims -
( a phantom -
feeding on the strife, the ceaseless ambition -
dances.)
books, politics, art, amours -
Hast never come to thee an hour,
( At work, at play, at home, on the street,
on a stage - )
A sudden gleam...
(a phantom - dancing, gliding, rising,
and softly whispering )
precipitating
("Why?" - )
bursting all these bubbles,
( While playing , the play,
speaking the lines,
beating the drum,
incessant, structured, disciplines, mechanical -
racked by the strife, the ceaseless ambition,
hast never come to thee
a secret moment when you embrace, and dance with the phantom )
to utter nothingness?
(in silence.)

-Walt Whitman

About the OU Percussion Press
In 1977 the OU Percussion Orchestra and Ensemble embarked on a project that developed into a national model for the encouragement and development of new music for percussion ensemble. The OU Percussion Ensemble Commissioning Series regularly engages outstanding composers to write works for this medium. The Commissioning Series is responsible for the creation of some of today's staples in the percussion ensemble repertoire.

In 1983 the University of Oklahoma funded the establishment of the OU Percussion Press, a non-profit extension of the percussion area. Through the Percussion Press, the commissioning series compositions plus other works expressly written for the OU Percussion Orchestra and Ensembles have been made available for purchase and performance by the world's leading percussion ensembles. The Percussion Press' catalog numbers more than 50 works, all published in a non-profit venture as a service to the profession.