Every year a competition is held in Debrecen for the percussion and
brass students of Hungarian music academies. This piece was composed for
that event in 2010 as an obligatory piece in the 2. round at the
request of Prof. István Szabó, the Head of the Percussion and Brass
Department.
The piece is about 7-8 minutes and contains several
virtuosic, fast and furious sections which require technical facility
and stamina from the performer. On the other hand, it consists of
numerous passages in which the musical skills of the performer can be
expressed. The key of the piece is to find the right characters and the
right tempos which are in constant change. The articulation of the
phrases is also very important. Even if the piece, apart from a few
passages, moves in a perpetual motion of sixteenth notes that flow
continuously from the beginning to the end, there are different tempos
and atmospheres to be shown.
The title Niflheim is a place of
eternal cold, darkness and fog in the Norse Mythology located in the
underworld. According to extant sources, it was one of the two
primordial realms, the other one was Muspelheim, the realm of fire.
Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began.
"That instrument makes a huge, warm sound, and the demeanour and virtuosity of soloist Eriko Daimo made this a performance to remember. Watching and hearing the four mallets play slow-moving, long-line, four-part harmony was extraordinary. No recording could capture that mesmerising combination of sound and sight."
Variations on lost love - Thema mit 3 Variationen, 4 Schlägel; schwer
A beautiful to berserk theme and variations, Variations is a large scale work in four sections that has advanced technical challenges, but is within the reach of a good four mallet player. Lyrical use of the one-handed roll in octaves for a principal melody.
Sound samples:12345 A fun piece in five short movements: G. Hopp, Ballad of C Roach, Ant Invasion, Bness and Romance of the Moths - duration ca. 6'. Each movement attempts to convey physical motions or images of the insect represented in the title. Scored for 5-octave marimba, four mallets. adv. high school/college.