Perfect for percussion quartets seeking to add energy and theatricality to their repertoire, Volume Pig (1992) places Farr's sense of humour alongside his formidable sense of rhythm. Dedicated to New Zealand percussion master Murray Hickman and premiered by Hickman's STRIKE Percussion ensemble, Volume Pig shifts unpredictably between overwhelming noise and barely audible whispers, its intricate textures peppered with wild shrieks, grunts and howls.
Eric Willie, Percussive Notes, August, September 2009
Volume Pig is scored for percussion quartet with an accordion player employed for comedic effect. The four performers have a fairly large setup consisting of a low tom-tom and various accessory instruments for each performer. Set in a rondo format, the A sections have loud (fff), driving, eighth-note patterns accompanied with ‘ha' and ‘ya' screams by the percussionists that are similar to the vocal sounds in Marimba Spiritual by Minoru Miki. The alternating sections consist of simultaneous improvisation from all performers, simple melodic interludes, and, perhaps most interestingly, the appearance of an accordion player off stage who is then shot with toy pistols for comedic affect.
The composition's rhythmic vocabulary is primarily limited to eighth- and sixteenth-note combinations and will be approachable by the novice-level ensemble. In addition, the "assassination" of the accordion player will help Volume Pig to serve as a novelty piece for any percussion ensemble concert.
Difficulty Rating Scale: ll - Elementary
Martin Lodge, Canzona 1997
Volume Pig, is a light-hearted work of visceral rhythmic excitement for percussion quartet. The writing is predictably demanding and rewarding for the players and noisy enough to fulfill the composer's explanation of the work's title "Volume Pig" colloquial name given to a person with a particular propensity for composing music of an unusually loud nature.
Gareth Farr is an indisputably colourful figure in New Zealand music. And whether scored for percussion duet or the resources of two large orchestras, Farr's music reflects his personality – bold, brash, or delicate and sensuous, but inevitably, immediately, engaging. Rhythmic elements of his compositions can be linked to the complex and exciting rhythms of Rarotongan log drum ensembles, Balinese gamelan and other percussion music of the Pacific Rim. In addition to his music for the concert chamber, Farr has written music for dance, theatre and television.
