Written at the request of Dame Evelyn Glennie, Psathas' Happy Tachyons (1996) pushes the technical abilities of the percussionist to edge. This excitable and high-spirited work sees melodic bursts from the twinkling, bright vibraphone alternating with the woody depth of the marimba. Elsewhere the percussionist must navigate passages that require the vibraphone and marimba to be played simultaneously. The flashy percussive lines skate incessantly over a heavily syncopated piano accompaniment.
John Beck, Percussive Notes
Happy Tachyons is a composition for marimba/vibraphone and piano scored for two players; however the marimba/vibraphone part may be divided between two players rather than having one player doubling on both instruments. The score clearly indicates what to play with either option.The piece has strong jazz overtones. The tempo is quarter-note = 142 throughout, except for a brief poco meno mosso. Composed primarily with sixteenths and sixteenth-note triplets, this piece moves. There are sections with piano and mallets playing in unison and a few with question and answer patterns between piano and mallets. Throughout the piece, attention must be paid to the accents and dynamic contrast in order to achieve a jazz style. The mallet player(s) must have a well-developed four-mallet technique.
John Elmsly, Canzona 1997
Happy Tachyons "relies on high levels of rhythmic energy and drive". Thrilling in result, the relentless continuity requires a pianist (and vibraphonist) of fortitude and immense concentration, though the effort will be worth it. Lest this be off-putting, once some of the basic routines and rhythmic hiccups are learned, the fingers should just cope as the single line expands and runs in and out of phase canonically, but it moves at a pretty cracking pace which must be maintained for 227 bars. While this is not, then, a piece for weekend learning - it was after all commissioned by Evelyn - it is one well worth studying for its rhythmic inventiveness and sheer excitement. What a thrill it must be to perform once it is worked up to its full breathtaking breathlessness!
John Psathas is a New Zealand freelance composer and teacher who, at a relatively early stage in his career, has established an international profile and receives regular commissions from organisations both in New Zealand and overseas. His works are championed around the world by a growing number of leading international artists, one of the most consistent of whom has been the Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Initially making a name for himself as a composer of high-energy percussion music, more recently the composer has concentrated on a series of larger-scale concertante works. A major career highlight to date has been the commission to compose the ceremonial music for the opening and closing of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. In 2005 John Psathas was created an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to music.
