Sonata for Marimba - ca. 7 Min.; 4 Schl., 5-Oktav-Marimba; schwer

Year of publication: 2009
Preview: PDF
Listen: MP3

Sonata for Marimba on YouTube

Johan Bridger (World-Premiere)

Matthew Coley (US-Premiere)
 

Sonata for Marimba 

Some thirty years ago the marimba was still an instrument which was of no interest for composers. In recent years, however, the technique of playing this instrument has greatly developed. The instrument itself has also undergone certain changes. The modern development of the technical and expressive abilities of the marimba resembles the development of the grand piano at the beginning of the 19th century. Nowadays, it provides huge possibilities for the composer’s imagination from the technical, as well as expressive point of view (tone colours, dynamics, articulation, etc.). For quite a long time now I have been of the opinion that the marimba may serve as means of expression just as well as classical concert instruments. This is how I felt about the marimba when I was writing concertos for this instrument, and it was this idea that motivated me when I was composing this sonata.

This composition consists of one part only, and displays many features of a sonata-allegro. The germ of the first theme appears right at the beginning of the composition and is folk in nature. This folk character arises more from the rhythmicity which is typical for the Polish mazurka or kouiaviak than from the melodic line. The germ nature of the theme is due to the fact that it never appears in its entirety. It is always incomplete to a certain extent. The second theme, which contrasts with the first one, appears in the 60th bar and is a kind of an oneiric waltz.  The thematic layer, consisting of the two themes and the musical material that appears in between (melodic pattern, rhythm, harmony, texture, etc.), constitute the substance that is processed in various ways in the subsequent part of the composition.

An important factor in the composition is building emotions. In the sonata there are a few different – as far as their intensity is concerned – emotional climaxes. The first one is discernible in bars 148-151. The second one, which is much stronger, appears in bars 230-232. After them there is a short slower episode, the aim of which is to calm the emotions and create a basis for the escalations that are to follow. The third climax is quite a long ascending plane (bars 254-304). It is internally divided into three sections, each of which carries ever stronger emotional tension (254-264,265-272, 273-304). The acme is reached in bars 305-307. The last emotional climax, which is a coda, is bars 354-356.

In the sonata I avail myself of various technical means, the full catalogue of which is easily discernible even after a cursory reading of the score. However, each and every of those means is subordinated to the superior aim, which is the expressive and emotional power of the composition. All ossias serve as technical measures facilitating the performance of the composition.


Credits
Front Cover artist: Marta Paulat
Front Cover graphics and layout: Ronni Kot Wenzell
Dedicated to Johan Svitzer
Engraving: Johan Svitzer
Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark