Fear of Silence is a virtuoso solo marimba piece that is a 5 and a half minute burst of extraordinary enthusiasm. It is all in 5/4 and yet its circular rhythms never feel predictable or stale. The rhythmic structure has some basis in S. Indian additive concepts. The harmony is both chromatic and modal and has an influence from late period Coltrane. Scurrying quartal lines, dense counterpoint, and an explosive finish make this a great workout. Fear Of Silence won the PASIC composition competition in 2007. Recordings of the piece by Matt Prendergast are available from www.joelharrison.com

Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)

Sample (Click Arrow to Play)

Mayumi Sekizawa: Three Songs for Solo Marimba
Three Songs for Solo Marimba includes three transcriptions for solo marimba. The description of each piece is as follows.

Amor en Primavera
(Manolo Sanlúcar, transcribed by Mayumi Sekizawa)
Amor en Primavera is a vibrant work written by the famous Flamenco guitarist Manalo Sanlúcar originally for 2 guitar and piano, and arranged for solo Marimba by Sekizawa. Sanlúcar was born in the southwest port of Andalucia, Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Since the 1960s, he became one of the leading advocates in promoting and developing the Flamenco genre. Amor en Primavera brings the sunny and bright atmosphere of Andalucia.

Corrida Real
(Manolo Sanlúcar, transcribed by Mayumi Sekizawa)
Manolo Sanlúcar had special fondness for bullfight and toreadors, also heard in his album dedicated entirely to the art of bullfighting. Originally, Corrida Real is written for 1 guitar, however the virtuosic technique makes it hard to believe that Sanlúcar is playing this piece by solo. His performance of Corrida Real brings the excitement and pleasures of the Flamenco rhythm and melodic lines. Generally, many Flamenco guitar works were not written into scores, and Corrida Real is no exception. As with the other Sanlúcar work in this album, Amor en Primavera, the arrangement of Corrida Real for the Marimba combines the unique coloring, rhythm and images of light and dark of this work with the artistic charms of the Marimba.

My Favorite Things
(Richard Rodgers, transcribed by Mayumi Sekizawa)
A widely well known song from the movie Sound of Music. Sekizawa also considers this piece her personal “favorite”, and often uses the tune to play around on the Marimba. This improvisatory arrangement by Sekizawa was create at one such occasion in having fun with the instrument.

Expansive Horizons is a virtuosic and musically challenging work for solo marimba. It was conceived in stages over many years, and was finally revised and completed in its present form in 2007.

This work is a fantasy piece in which an antecedent/consequence motive established at the outset undergoes constant transformation amidst many shifting textures and harmonic regions. The piece’s many sections portray various images of nature ranging from brazen, jagged, cliffs, to smooth, flowing, rivers. It is from these images that the piece gets its title.

The first movement “Cascading gently” is divided into three main sections: an introduction, a large, flowing, chordal section, and a final lyrical section which is played very freely. The second movement “Soaring” is a perpetually moving expansion of the opening music. In this movement there are four very large sections: “Allegro passionato” characterized by tense syncopations; “Andante maestoso” a softer, fluid, section; “Moderato tranquilio” a gentle section of chordal arpeggios; and, after a brief recapitulation of the movement’s opening, a flourishing coda appropriately marked “Allegro meteorico.”

For more information about this piece please visit: www.danieltemkincomposer.com

Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)

It is important to note that my marimba adaptation of this work is a transcription where the original material was preserved as much as possible. However, the piece is transposed down one octave in order to retain the dark quality of the viola's low register as well as to highlight the richness of the low register of the marimba. The performer should use soft and heavy mallets including a rich bass mallet in the first position. This bass mallet should be used as much as possible in the lowest octave, even if that means playing fast passages with only the bass mallet (e.g., measures 24-26).

-GK (Duluth, MN 1/2/09)

Sample 1 (Click Arrow to Play)

Sample (Click Arrow to Play)