PLEASE NOTE: This purchase is for a downloadable PDF copy of the piece. You will NOT receive a hard copy shipped to your address.
 
Watch the video of Freya and Aran playing Sword Shield first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4BqCItELow
 
Sword Shield was written for and commissioned by Freya Wheatley for her percussion recital here in Perth, Australia, completing a program of new works commissioned by Freya from Perth composers. Freya asked me to write a duo piece for her to play with her brother, so I instantly came up with the idea of a vibraphone-marimba duo signifying a 'friendly' battle with fighting themes - a friendly battle between two players.
 
One player assumes the ‘attacking’ stance with their virtuosic lines, whilst the other ‘defending’ with chordal and punctuated accompaniment. These roles switch throughout the work, symbolising an equality of power in their battle, before both players realise the only way to resolve their battle is to combine their forces in a final moment of shining unity.
 
Sword Shield is the most difficult duo work I have written so far, referencing similar thematic styles to my ensemble work We Are Heroes - a theme of heroic fighting, defending and standing up for others - with some drops of inspiration from the flashy and shimmering nature of my other vibraphone-marimba duo, Flying Colours.
 
Flying Colours requires a 3.0 octave vibraphone and a 4.3 octave marimba. You will receive one (1) PDF file with the full score, the vibraphone part and the marimba part.
 
Studio VIPs / Studio ARTISTs: Discount code available at patreon.com/adamtan! Use that code in checkout to gain 25% off this score (Studio ARTISTs) or 50% off (Studio VIPs)!
 
Sword Shield was premiered by Freya Wheatley and Aran Wheatley at the UWA Conservatorium of Music in Perth, Australia on 20 November 2021.