Patterns & Form
New Focus, 2026
9/10
The Portland Percussion Group present us 3 commissioned works that allows for the ensemble’s inimitable talents to shine in very diverse and technical settings.
The title track, by Alejandro Viñao, opens the listen with the 8 players using the marimbas, xylophones, vibraphones and glockenspiels in fluid and exciting ways across the 3 detailed and colorful segments.
Mendel Lee’s “The Spaces Between” arrives in the middle and enlists the bells in meticulous ways amid the strong mallet work on the back half of the track that radiates an atypical rhythm.
“Whatever was lost never thenceforth mattered” exits, and showcases robust drumming, chime dynamics and percussive attentiveness you’re unlikely to find anywhere else thanks to Daniel Webbon’s vision.
The Portland Percussion Group have been plugging away since 2011, and this effort sees the outfit again impressing us with their contemporary vision, delicate moments, interlocking spaces and extremely intricate exploration.
Travels well with: Richard Carrick- I’Algérie; Jonathan Bagg- Viola Revival