Strange Humors (strings)

Chamber Music, Percussion, Strings/5'/Difficulty - Medium/1998

For string quartet & djembe or string orchestra and djembe
(double bass is optional)

Also available for wind ensemble; clarinet quartet and djembe; sax quartet and djembe; and adaptable instrumentation

PDF Full Set (digital)

Price:

$90.00

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Listen

View the score

Video of original version for string quartet.
Music by John Mackey, choreography by Robert Battle.
Dancers: Samuel Roberts and George Smallwood.

I originally wrote this piece for a Juilliard student as part of a workshop class. Robert Battle soon got a hold of it and gave it a whole new spin. Thanks to the Parsons Dance Company, this work has been heard over 150 times in performances around the world, and it remains in the Company’s active repertoire. Stylistically, this “sultry” piece (according to the New York Times) attempts to merge pseudo-African hand drumming and pseudo-middle eastern folk music.

The piece has been adapted many times, with versions for clarinets, saxophones, and concert band.