Bump

Bump was completed in Baltimore, Maryland on January 22, 1985. It is a “nightmare conga” characterized by a bass drum stroke on every fourth beat whose oppressive obstinacy adds to the overall feeling of menace. The title, referring as it does to dance floor bumping with hips or buttocks, may imply a certain impish quality in the movement, but the harrowing surrealism of its execution should belie any suspicion that it is largely “light classical” in orientation; if I had a corresponding visual image for Bump it would be akin to a gala Boston Pops performance in Hell.

— Christopher Rouse

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