Christopher Deane (b. 1957) - Pyriphlegethon (2007)

Conducted world premiere at PASIC 2007

Pyriphlegethon was the underworld river of fire and its god. I was  11 years old when I learned of the Cuyahoga river fire in Cleveland in 1969. It was a strange concept to me that a river could burn, and I was surprised to later learn that the image of a burning river was a common image in ancient literature (Homer in the 8th century BC “Odyssey” and Plato in his “Phaedo” in the 4th Century BC to name only two). There are references to images from the litierature in this work. This piece is a tone poem, in a way, and more importantly it is an attempt to stretch the sound of the percussion ensemble, and sound that is not found in any other kind of ensemble. In addition, I am always looking for ways to play our instruments that are not quite the usual in order to liberate less than obvious aspects of the percussive voice in these instruments. The structure of the piece is one long stream of music in which waves and currents of sound wash over one another. - Christopher Deane

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Christopher Deane is associate professor in percussion at the University of North Texas. Prior to his appointment with UNT, he was the principal timpanist of the Greensboro Symphony for nine years and a regular performer as both percussionist and timpanist with the North Carolina Symphony for ten years. He has performed with numerous orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra.

Deane’s chamber music experience includes performances with the Aeolian Chamber Players, the Percussion Group Cincinnati, the Mallarme Chamber Players, and the New Century Saxophone Quartet. He is a founding member of the Philidor Percussion Group. Recording experience includes the North Carolina Symphony, the Cincinnati Philharmonia, the Crofut Consort, Mallarme Chamber Players, and the St. Stevens Chamber Orchestra.

Deane has won both first and second prize in composition from the Percussive Arts Society. A number of his compositions are considered standard percussion repertoire and are played internationally. Deane has appeared as a performer, composer, or clinician at seven Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. Deane is an Artist/Educator clinician for Innovative Percussion Company and Sabian Cymbals.