Mahler: never one to do things by halves. Photo: Public Domain, E. Bieber-Kohut
Performing a symphony by Gustav Mahler is always an event, especially for an orchestra's percussion section.
The Austrian composer loved his cymbals, bass drums and gongs, but in his Sixth Symphony he really goes to town, asking (along with the instruments above) for two timpanists, snare drum, celeste, xylophone, glockenspiel, church bells, cowbells and, to top it all off, a hammer.
Well, more than just a hammer. The hammer has to come with a hollow wooden box, designed in such a way as to create a dull thump, like fate coming down on top of your head.
Gemma New, coming home for some Mahler action. Photo: Benjamin Ealovega
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by New Zealander Gemma New (coming back home for the concert) will perform Mahler's monstrous symphony in Wellington and Auckland this month, and the orchestra has decided to build its own hammer and block.
The man behind the hammer - he's one of the orchestra's own musicians - is a little publicity shy, but the orchestra's Production Manager Steve Blennerhassett and double bass player Malcolm Struthers were more than happy to take RNZ Concert host Bryan Crump along for the ride as they created the block the hammer has to hit.
The plans. Photo: Bryan Crump
It's a lot of work for an instrument that only gets played twice in a work nearly 90 minutes long, but Mahler was adamant his Sixth Symphony needed it, with the two blows of the hammer representing the blows of fate that might fell a mighty hero.
Mahler, being a composer not a carpenter, didn't leave any plans for this block, so Blennerhassett and Struthers came up with their own. Not quite on the back of an envelope, but maybe the back of a bank statement.
Struthers says the key figure is 800 millimetres: up, down and back. The block is all made of standard plywood, with a hole on one side to let the noise out, and a pad on top to take the blow and deaden the sound.
Measure twice... Photo: Bryan Crump
Solid construction was key - after all, this box is going to have to take the weight of fate.
Luckily, Blennerhasset has years of experience building sets for shows, ballets and operas, while Struthers makes musical instruments and instrument cases in his spare time.
Having cut the wood to measure in Blennerhasset's garage, the boys then moved to putting it together with plenty of screws and a good coat of varnish.
Cut once... Photo: Bryan Crump
But good as the finished box might look, it's crucial both hammer and block pass the strength and sound test.
That's where NZSO principal percussionist Lenny Sakofsky comes in.
Having moved the block and hammer to Struther's garage workshop, the builders invited Sakofksy along to give the new instrument a test run.
There's two reasons for this. First, the block has to sound right; a dull thud - not too wooden, and certainly not too metallic.
Second, both block and hammer need to hold together.
There's a least one YouTube video showing what can go wrong if your hammer-head isn't up to the job.
And Sakofsky also tells a story of how the hammer blow during a performance of the symphony in Auckland left a hole in the floor of the Town Hall stage.
Struthers is leaving nothing to chance and shares his Aikido expertise with Sakofsky, helping the percussionist to wield a mallet you'd normally find in a construction site or maybe at the Easter Show (the ones used to test your strength on).
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
After a few dummy runs with an Aikido stick, Sakofsky is ready for the real deal, and the resulting thud doesn't indeed sound apocalyptic.
Even better, after several runs at the target, both hammer and box appear to be holding up.
Lenny brings down the hammer. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Listeners will get a chance to decide for themselves whether the NZSO's specially-built hammer and block pass the doom test. If nothing else, the instrument makes for great theatre - you're going to know it's coming.
However, players nearby might still like to wear helmets just in case there's an unexpected twist of fate.
Those in the audience should be out of range for the two concerts, one in Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre on Friday 5 September, followed by one in the Auckland Town Hall on Saturday night.
They're shaping up to be blockbuster performances, although hopefully not in the literal sense.
The Block - ready for another good hammering. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
