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Work Overview
A killer is an everyday symbol that often goes unnoticed, being
accepted as a facet of our western culture without any attention
being given to it.
Used by postal authorities, the killer - or obliterator in French
is a very familiar, particularly heavy handstamp consisting of
thick bars, cork impressions or other crude devices used to
cancel postage stamps in the early days of postage. The dramatic
choice of name refers to its roll as a postage mark. Once
applied, its function is to obscure almost the whole of the stamp
effectively ending its life so it cannot be re-used.
In modern times, the United States has taken the name for a
particular circular date stamp with four thick horizontal bars to
the right. Fulfilling the same role, this handstamp effectively
cancels the stamp while leaving the place and date information
easily visible. The bars are known as killer bars.
This piece takes the heavy bars from the original killer
handstamp and represents it musically as a sustained vibraphone
motive that frequently reappears thus providing the structural
basis of the piece.
Work Details
Year: 2018
Instrumentation: Percussion (3 players).
Duration: 5 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — Virtuoso technique required
First performance: by line upon line percussion — 8 Sep 18. The Capitol Theatre, Bendigo, VIC
The composer cites the following styles, genres, influences, etc associated with the work:
Klangfarbenmelodie, textural music
Performances of this work
8 Sep 18: The Capitol Theatre, Bendigo, VIC. Featuring line upon line percussion.
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