His r's came out sounding like drumrolls, even in a word as tricky as "carrera," as in career.
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"Holy Child"—a collaboration with the minimalist composer William Basinski—seems austere and slow, as a woman's chants are tracked by sparse, muted drumrolls.
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In the meantime they listened to thunder bouncing around the sky and she spoke of country thunder when she was growing up, an approaching storm, her fearful wonder at the drumrolls and jagged flashes.
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Macron, whose wife Brigitte was his drama teacher as a schoolboy, is a fan of theater and classical music, making him a natural fit as the storyteller who accompanies the enchanting sounds of oboes, flutes and drumrolls in Peter and the Wolf.
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But the fact that all of those developments, which five years ago would have been trumpeted with drumrolls and bells and whistles, slipped in practically under the radar is reflective of the new state of … well, I wouldn't call it estrangement, but rather a cooling off of the once heated relationship.
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As before, drumrolls link the Third Tableau to its predecessor (in the 1911 score, Stravinsky directs that this drumroll should be omitted in concert performance). In sharp contrast to the darkness of Petrushka's Room, the brilliant colors of the Benois design for the Moor's Room evoke a romanticized desert: palm trees, exotic flowers, sand. In Fokine's choreography, the Moor reclines on a divan playing with a coconut. He then jumps to his feet and attempts to cut it with his scimitar.
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Although Petrushka's room is inside the puppet theater, the Benois design is fantastical, portraying the night sky with stars and a half-moon; abstract icebergs (or snow-capped mountains), and a prominent portrait of the Magician. Drumrolls announce the beginning of the Second Tableau. Without an Introduction, the music begins menacingly. "A foot kicks him onstage; Petrushka falls..." As Petrushka gradually pulls himself together, we hear a strange arpeggio in the clarinets: this is the famous "Petrushka chord" (consisting of juxtaposed triads of C major and F major).
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The work is divided into four tableaux (scenes). The score further indicates the following episodes: :First Tableau: The Shrovetide Fair #[Introduction] #A group of Drunken Revelers passes, dancing #The Master of Ceremonies entertains the Crowd from his booth above #An Organ-Grinder appears in the Crowd with a [woman] Dancer #The Organ-Grinder begins to play #The Dancer dances, beating time on the triangle #At the other end of the stage a Music Box plays, another [woman] Dancer dancing around it. #The first Dancer plays the triangle again #The Organ and Music Box stop playing; the Master of Ceremonies resumes his pitch #The Merry Group returns #Two Drummers, stepping up in front of the Little Theater, attract the attention of the Crowd by their drumrolls #At the front of [i.e. from inside] the Little Theater appears the Old Magician.
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