Marimba Pop

for marimba solo
(2012)

The score of Marimba Pop can be purchased from Sheet Music Plus.
Kevin Romanski can be heard performing some of the movements at these YouTube links:
I: Moss on the Marimba
III: 33 (for Sansan)
IV: All Aflutter

My original plan for this piece was to compose a set of short and easy marimba solos that players could use as warm-ups, or even as teaching material. For this reason, and unlike most of my music, they are essentially diatonic. Each piece begins with a simple idea, then develops it in a rather traditional way. During the composign process, however, some more difficult rhythms and marimba techniques began surfacing. Rather than limiting my musical possibilities, I decided to develop these ideas. The result is that they are still light and accessible, but a little more difficult to play than I had originally planned.

I: Moss on the Marimba
This piece is meant to be a warm, slow and melodic song. My intention was that it might sound as if somebody had arranged a song for marimba. The harmonies are not entirely traditional, but the overall effect is still quite lyrical and pleasant.

II: Bat Flight
The rhythmic inspiration for this piece came from the likes of 1970s progressive rock and certain more recent “indie” music. However, the light effect here is nothing like either of those style. The driving force is an ostinato whose length keeps getting changed. A tango-like rhythm then gets placed in different relationships against that ostinato, resulting in constantly shifting syncopations.

III: 33 (for Sansan)
This piece is a bit different from the others. It was originally a meditative piano solo composed in memory of my late wife, Sansan Chien. Kevin Romanski, who asked me to compose these pieces, heard my performance of that piano solo and asked me to incorporate into the set. Though the effect is quite different from the original piano version, it seems to function well on its own terms. Because Sansan’s name sounds like “3-3” in Mandarin Chinese, this piece is filled with musical relationships involving 3 and 33 as well as various multiples of those numbers.

IV: All Aflutter
Similar to “Bat Flight”, this piece is essentially about rhythm. Here, however, a simple two-note gesture is developed into a dialogue between the player’s two hands, with occasional longer strings of notes added for contrast. Changing meters give the music a sense of excitement and unpredictability.

Duration Ca. 12 - 13 minutes.