Corruption

Russell Wharton has created several wonderful pieces for percussion and audio accompaniment. The newest is “Corruption,” a work that is meant to musically depict a “Faustian story of unchecked ambition, unholy bargains, and unfortunate consequences.” Along with a well-produced audio tape, Wharton employs a unique collection of live sounds to tell this story.

The body of the piece is composed with skillfully written gestures and phrases for the glass, wood, and skin sounds. Using complex rhythms and multiple changes of time signature, Wharton creates moments of driving agitation, of free lyrical playing, and of panicked chaos. Throughout all these different sections, the electronic audio serves the perfect complement to what the performer is doing, making it easier to play in the character that the moment requires.

However, all of that music is written as a means of featuring specific instruments: the liquid triangle and the Aztec death whistle. The liquid triangle, which opens and closes the piece, is a triangle with a small reservoir for water attached to it, making the sound bend when the instrument is tilted, similar to a waterphone. The death whistle, which is featured close to the end of the piece and serves as the introduction for the darkest portion of the work, makes a terrifying human-like scream when played.

For those of us who like dark characteristics with the music we play, “Corruption” is a wonderful addition to our repertoire. The rhythms are challenging, and the need to acquire specific sounds solely for this piece might be a pain, but the payoff of performing this tale is well worth it.

—Kyle Cherwinski
Percussive Notes
Vol. 60, No. 5, 2022