Ritual Dance
(from the film Altered States, 1981)
For orchestra
x
see also:
Three Hallucinations (from the film Altered States)
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Listen to a sound clip
rent score and parts from
G. Schirmer IncÂ
order study score from
www.musicdispatch.comÂ
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Scored for
3 flutes (doubling piccolo),
3 oboes,
3 clarinets (doubling Eb clarinet and bass clarinet),
3 bassoons, (doubling contrabassoon),
4 horns,
3 trumpets,
3 trombones,
tuba,
2 timpanists,
percussion (5 players),
harp,
2 pianos,
electronic organ, and
strings (minimum 12 first violins, 10 second violins, 8 violas, 8 cellos, 6 basses)
DurationÂ
3 minutes
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Recordings
x
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Program note
Ritual Dance (based upon music written for Ken Russell's film "Altered States") begins with a shower of winds and percussion, simulating the fireworks that begin this hallucination. This momentum leads to a savage dance (in the film, the Hinchi Indians’ mushroom rite). The full-orchestral forces are augmented here by two sets of four timpani each and also by an expanded percussion section. The work ends in a burst of cumulative energy.
x
                   Â
— John Corigliano