The Drummer of Tedworth: A Concerto for a 'Speaking' Drummer was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, composed by Sean Noonan, and conducted by Jack Sheen on January 18, 2024. It serves as an exploration of rhythmic storytelling, to be performed by Sean Noonan himself. Designed for a 'speaking' drummer, the concerto seamlessly integrating the voice with the drum kit to create a 'fifth limb' where the voice and limbs operate in equal partnership. Various rhythmic storytelling techniques utilize the voice as part of the drum kit practice, providing a 'fifth limb' and establishing an additional extension to the fully coordinated four-limbed practice of the drum kit as it exists today.
Episodic Movements are:
1. Not I Eating Makeup In A Pool of Ketchup
2. The Pterodactyls Have Landed - The Arachnids Go Wild
3. He Skarbnik He - Chewing of Pith - Magic Mist
4. Drunkard Landlady - Lawsuit of an Unlicensed Vagrant- Elixir of Dian Cécht
5. Krasnoludkis On My Mind - Martian Refugee
6. Give the Drummer a Chance (Grand Finale)
Noonan combines new music, free improvisation, and rhythmic storytelling, treating the ensemble as extensions of his own limbs. This approach treats the orchestra as an extension of a drummer's limbs, orchestrating rhythmic language derived from the drum kit. The Drum Kit Concerto is a cross-genre music work that reimagines orchestral music, aiming to showcase the drum kit's potential in 21st-century compositions. The evolution of the relationship between the drums and the ensemble is rooted in Noonan's personal experiences, where he incorporates additional instruments as natural extensions of his own limbs.
Drawing inspiration from the haunting and drumming phenomena documented by Joseph Glanvill in "Saducismus Triumphatus" (1681), the concerto's six episodic movements adapt the concept of the haunting someone would receive if they too were to seize Noonan's drum kit. These movements evoke a spectrum of paranormal activities, delving into the eerie and uncanny, capturing the essence of supernatural disturbances that echo through the centuries.
The narrative of the legendary Drummer of Tedworth infuses the concerto with intrigue, darkness, spookiness, humor, and absurdity. Inspired by this tale, the concerto envisions a scenario where someone mysteriously takes away Noonan’s drums, echoing the disruptions caused by the poltergeist in 1661. Drawing from Noonan's previous works with jazz rock bands like Brewed by Noon and Pavees Dance, as well as the Ligeti Quartet and Zappanation Rock Opera, it establishes connections to past recordings while forging new musical pathways.
