Ziggurat for Bass-Clarinet and Marimba - 12 Min.; 5-Oktav-Marimba, New Music, advanced
The relationship between music and architecture has for many decades been source of fascination for Gilbert. A range of works reflecting on the complexity and beauty of French medieval cathedrals has been the result. Ziggurat is in many ways a companion to these, albeit the type of structure it was engendered by existed a good millennium earlier. It was commissioned in 1993 by the Duo Contemporain, Henri Bok, bass clarinet and Miguel Bernat, percussion, as a sequal to a number of pieces he’d written for them reflecting on the architecture of Chartes Cathedral.
Although it was a type of memorial to a leading figure in Babylonian (or indeed Amerindian) society, the ziggurat celebrates life. Starting at ground level, a pathway or staircase winds up around the conical structure, decorated with passages of visual narrative and imagery. Gilbert’s duo for bass clarinet and marimba engages in a similar journey, continuously climbing but also episodic, with passages of wild virtuoso music separated by steady, directed motion. Colour-changes involving bass clarinet multiphonics and rich chordal writing for the marimba feature strongly.
In its original form the work lasted over eighteen minutes; in 2014 Gilbert decided to extensively rewrite the work in order to sharpen its musical focus. It is now just over two thirds of its original length, with resultant heightened intensity.
Allegretto for solo marimba and as duo - from the 24 Etudes op. 48, edit.by Andreas Schwarz for marimba solo or marimba duo or marimba in duo with vibraphone / violin / flute / saxophone / clarinet;56 pages (scores and 7 parts), intermediate
06 Bearbeitung für Solo-Marimba
09 Duo-Fassung Marimba / Violoncello
13 Duo-Fassung Marimba / Tenor-Saxophon (oder Klarinette, in B)
19 Duo-Fassung Marimba / Alt-Saxophon (in Es)
24 Duo-Fassung Marimba / Vibraphon (oder für zwei Marimbas)
29 Duo-Fassung Marimba / Violine
34 Duo-Fassung Marimba / Querflöte
39 Einzelstimme Marimba (für Duo)
42 Einzelstimme Violoncello
44 Einzelstimme Tenor-Saxophon oder Klarinette (in B)
46 Einzelstimme Alt-Saxophon (in Es)
48 Einzelstimme Vibraphon bzw. Marimba II
50 Einzelstimme Violine
52 Einzelstimme Querflöte
MAURO GIULIANI (1781-1829)
war ein italienischer Gitarrist und Komponist. Er konzertierte bereits in seiner Jugend in Italien und Frankreich und galt später als einer der bedeutenden Gitarrenvirtuosen seiner Zeit. Fünfzehn Jahre lebte und arbeitete er „freischaffend“ in Wien, wo er u.a. Hummel, Spohr und Beethoven kennen- lernte und mit ihnen auftrat.
Das „Allegretto“ entstammt seinen „24 Etüden op. 48“, wo es im Hinblick auf Komplexität und Musikalität einen vorderen Rang einnimmt. Für die Marimba scheint es wie geschaffen, und so habe ich es dafür bereits vor langer Zeit eingerichtet. Die vorliegenden Bearbeitungen für Duo-Besetzungen sind in der Folge der Transskription für das Dornglück-Duo (Violoncello und Marimba) entstanden.
Andreas Schwarz
Three Pieces for Bb Clarinet & Percussion - 2 movements Marimba; 1 movement Percussion: Tam-Tam, Bass Drum, 2 Tin Cans, 2 Toms; advanced
Bb Clarinet, marimba low A, tam-tam, bass drum, 2 tin cans, 2 toms
The 1st and 2nd movements of Three Pieces for Clarinet and Percussion are more a conflict of the two players; the 3rd movement brings it to a "happy end". The main compositional element of the 1st movement is the motif of echoes used in different ways. The Marimba repeats chords, interrupted by irregular rests; also once with an inaudible “echo” dampening of the chords. These rhythmical phrases are repeated by the clarinet with a great spectrum of dynamics. This dialog of echoes is interrupted by a dance-like part, in which the Clarinet and the Marimba play together; a short echo finishes this movement. In the 2nd movement the percussion player uses a small set-up, played with wire brushes. The intention of this movement is more like a clarinet cadence, interrupted by some rhythmical break-outs of the percussion player, ending mostly with a fade. After the "conflict" of the 1st and 2nd movements, the Clarinet and Marimba combine in the 3rd movement to a "love song", repeating some ideas of the 1st and 2nd movement, but now ending in harmony.