Isabelle Dances for Solo Marimba - 15 Min.; geschrieben für Isabelle Huang; 4 Sätze: 1. Bounce, 2. Dream - Hommage to Chopin, 3. Hover, 4. Stomp - Homage to Bartok. schwer

Video

Composed for percussionist Isabelle Huang, the 15-minute suite Isabelle Dances, a sonic landscape for marimba, is explored in the course of four movements. The outer movements (Bounce and Stomp) showcase the marimba’s rhythmic drive and highly-charged neo-primitivism, while the inner movements (Dream and Hover) consist of inventive tremolos, evoking the unfolding of time. The second and fourth movements are subtitled as homages to Chopin and to Bartok. For advanced players. Dur.: 15’

ABOUT THE PIECE:

Isabelle Dances (2010) was composed for percussionist Isabelle Huang. This fifteen minute marimba solo contains four movements- I. Bounce, II. Dream (Homage to F. Chopin), III. Hover, and IV. Stomp (Homage to B. Bartók) all exploring sonic landscape of the marimba. The outer movements, Bounce and Stomp, presents the instrument’s ability of rhythmic drive with fast scales and strict sense of the groove. Stucky’s creation of beautiful lines is especially evident and can be clearly shown in the inner two movements, “Dream” and “Hover,” which present the beautiful soundscapes of the marimba with lyrical melodies and the sense of unfolding time. The second movement and the last movement, “Dream” and “Stomp”, are subtitled as homages to F. Chopin and B. Bartók, respectively.

“Dream” starts out with tremolo on single notes to create an unendingly beautiful phrase which mimics the sustaining of sound which the instrument lacks of. Meanwhile, the fast-moving line on the bass accompanies it with a sense of unease that recalls Chopin’s Prelude in D Minor Op.28 No.24. Stomp, which is an homage to Bela Bartók, has a strong sense of primitivism. The movement puts one in mind of Book 6 from Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, sharing similarities in both the sound, phrase structure, and the rhythmic structure. The beginning of the piece consists of strong accented major seconds in both hands, which creates a strong sense of vertical direction as well as horizontal direction. The main theme of the movement has a strong rhythmic discernment with a ‘stomp’ on the beginning of each rhythmical phrase.