Shaken Not Stirred
for 3 percussion and electric bass (1995)
Instrumentation: 3 percussion (marimba/tambourine/maracas/vibraphone/2 crystal glasses/hi-hat/bongo/c.bell/claves/woodblock/castanets/gong/triangle/crotales); electric bass or acoustic bass (with or without amplification)
Publisher: Boosey and Hawkes, Hendon Music (BMI)
Duration: 8 minutes
Program Note:
Shaken, Not Stirred is my tribute to Bond, James Bond, British Agent 007, on Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Four different actors played the role of Bond in sixteen films from 1962 to 1994: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton. But over the years, Bond’s preferred drink has remained the same-a medium dry martini with lemon peel, “shaken, not stirred.” Like the four different versions of Bond, the four musicians in the ensemble dryly reiterate this phrase, creating an intricate compositional structure for repetition and variation. Various sixties “secret agent” motives are heard in the electric bass alongside lively vibraphone and marimba riffs, counterpoised with the stirring and shaking of maracas and tambourine. In a suave succession of timbres and rhythms tinged with cocktail-lounge overtones, the effect of this composition is retro-futuristic music that looks good in a dinner jacket, licensed to thrill. Shaken, Not Stirred is eight minutes in duration and divided into nine sections to be performed without pause: “Dr. No Allegro,” “Moonraker Cha-Cha,” “Thunderball Vivace,” “Goldfinger Andantino,” “You Only Live Twice Allegretto,” “Moonraker Adagissimo,” “Casino Royale Rumba,” “Diamonds Are Forever Vivo,” and “Never Say Never Andante.” It is scored for electric bass, vibraphone, marimba, and a wide range of percussion instruments: tambourine, maracas, crotales, bongos, triangle, gong, hi-hat, splash cymbal, woodblock, cowbell, and (of course) crystal glasses.
–Michael Daugherty