Four Marimbas

Commissioned by Jianli Percussion

ORCHESTRATION 4mba

DURATION 9 min

CATEGORY Percussion Ensemble

• Program Note

  Four Marimbas explores the variety of sounds, rhythms, and tonal combinations of the marimba. In three movements, related somewhat like a baroque concerto grosso, the tempos alternate fast, slow, fast. The first movement switches between a joyous theme inspired by Middle Eastern modes and rhythms, and atmospheric episodes that employ a variety of scales from around the globe. The second movement is an aria that explores various expressive qualities of the marimba. Some of the parts ‘sing’ the main melodic line, while others accompany it with choral style chords that utilize the unique quality of interlocking marimba tremolos. The last movement, Presto, returns to the main scales and keys used in the first movement, but the main theme is now chordal and rhythmic in nature, while the connecting episodes are more melodic. Intense rhythms build energy, and the progressions spiral out from a single chord to encompass all octaves of the instrument ever expanding towards the ecstatic end.