Marimba Montuno (2002) for Marimba Solo - 9 Min.; 4 mallets, advanced

Video

Marimba Montuno by William Susman, is frequently performed in concert and at master classes throughout the US by multi-percussionist Joseph Gramley, to whom this work is dedicated. It is recorded on Joseph Gramley's CD Global Percussion.

Marimba Montuno challenges the performer with 4-mallet technique combined with contrapuntal montuño rhythmic figures. The following liner notes by Thomas Mallon from Joseph Gramley's CD Global Percussion:

Marimba Montuño owes its harmony to the Fibonacci series and its pulse to Afro-Cuban rhythms, particularly the montuño, a motif that's repeated continually in the same pitch and voice. "I compose in small sections or chunks and then organize the sound into a fixed order," says Susman. The end result is rhythmically supercharged—a test of dexterity and speed for the marimbist.

Gramley's unflagging ability to play the rhythms simultaneously in both hands—a relatively new feature of 4-mallet marimba technique and composition—led Susman to dedicate the finished Marimba Montuño to the performer. But even before that Gramley had made the work his own. "I usually know within the first page if something I want is a keeper. Marimba Montuño is that kind of piece."