Michel van der Aa: Wake

  
Two percussionists with almost identical equipment are on the stage and begin to play a virtual canon. While the first one plays the instruments, the second, who must re-play the music, is not allowed to touch the instruments. It hurts to see the vain attempts of the ‘dumb’ player to emulate his counterpart and produce more than mere arm movements; his efforts lend this dialogue a tragic undertone, in the style of a ‘commedia dell’arte’. Around the middle of the work, however, the part of the mimic player becomes an independent element of the performance, gaining increasing influence on the real acoustic events.